Star Fox: First Contact
by Sheppard Studios
Summary: [S] In a Lylat System where Andross' attacks never ravaged the system, and war never wreaked havoc on Corneria, a ground-breaking discovery is made. The first intergalactic civilization. However, the outcome of this discovery will depend on if the other civilization can do their own research without it blowing up in their face... or in someone else's...
1. Setting the Stage

**A/N: Update 2: Yes, you guys, I am aware that the beginning of this story is painfully awful. It's incredibly lacking, there are plot holes _everywhere, _and the quality of the writing is sub-par compared to what I am doing now. But, cut me some slack, okay? This was my first successful story, and even though it was conceived only a year ago, my quality of writing has improved drastically ever since. Don't believe me? Take a look at this story's sequel, Veria. Now come back to this. Tell me which one is better.  
**

**What I'm getting at is if you are a new reader that has seen Veria and wanted to come back to what started it all, or if you're just wandering around and stumbled upon this, and feel like you need to comment on how atrocious the beginning third of this story is, here's a suggestion._ Don't_. I am painfully aware of the beginning problems, and I know that there are more plot holes than the Terminator movies, but I don't need a bunch of people telling me even after the story is over. I'm sorry if I sound a little harsh, but this wouldn't happen if I didn't get upset with it. **

**So, that being said, I really should revise this. And I am. With the help of my partners, FC is getting a brand new revamp. Check out "Star Fox: Classified Engagement" for details. I just didn't feel like revising this mess because nobody will see its improvements. So, if you want to see a good version of FC, check out the ongoing "CE" instead of trudging through the atrocious beginning of FC.**

**Not to discourage any of you guys from reading this, however. There are many good aspects of FC that are a must-see in my opinion. If you guys can put up with the choppy beginning, it is very rewarding once you get to latter chapters. **

**Sorry for ranting, but I feel like I needed to address that. So, for new viewers wanting to drop a review, keep in mind that any and all problems that you can think of have been brought to my attention. Just focus on the good parts, okay?**

**Thanks, and please enjoy. ~Sheppard**

* * *

Let's draw the background first, shall we?

You might remember the Lylat System as the home to an anthropomorphic race known as the Cornerians. Home to humanized animals such as dogs, wolves, birds, felines, reptiles, hares, foxes, you get the idea… They have their own technology, communication methods, intelligence, military, architecture, entertainment, you name it.

You may also remember that Lylat was locked into a war for several years with a mad scientist named Andross, and his allied planet, Venom. The war ravaged the planetary system, killing millions of people, and leaving Corneria devastated. It was the worst tragedy to ever strike the Lylat System.

However… _What if that never happened?_

What if Lylat never had to deal with that severe tragedy?

Let's add some details to the picture we are drawing.

First off: Let's just set the record straight and say that Andross and his experiments never existed. He's like the rock stuck in your shoe; just take him out, throw him away, and forget he ever existed. He will never be relevant in this story.

Secondly: Although war is not predominant now, Star Fox still does exist, but not the same way you would think. Since Andross never existed, an orange vulpine by the name of James McCloud is still alive. His wife, Vixy, is also still safe at home. Their only kit, Fox, may only be thirteen years old now, but he already knows what he wants to do for the rest of his life.

He wants to be just like his dad; and James couldn't be happier.

Anyway, this current Star Fox team that you will come to know and love consists of the leader, James McCloud; the ace pilot, Riley Lombardi; the irreplaceable Peppy Hare, and a nineteen year old Wolf O'Donnell.

Woah, woah, wait a second; let me explain this sudden mind-fuckery. The mortal enemy of Fox McCloud a member of Star Fox? Well, let's first put this into perspective. This could be important.

Five years prior to the start of this story, James 'adopted' Wolf, finding him half beaten to death on a Cornerian side street. James took him in and cared for him, and since Wolf had no recollection of his personal life, he considered James his father. Wolf got along with the other McClouds very well, considering Vixy instantly took Wolf in and cared for him like he was one of her own. Wolf enlisted in the Cornerian Flight Academy at James request, where he was able to get his superb flying skills. Wolf also quickly became a role model for the other kit in the McCloud household. Fox and Wolf got along like two best friends, although Fox considered the older lupine his brother. Yes, this is the part where you say 'aww'.

Shall we elaborate on the other side of Star Fox?

Riley Lombardi. He joined Star Fox at James' request. They were roommates in the Cornerian Flight Academy, and partners in the CDF for many years. You may not know him per se, but you do know his son, a blue avian by the name of Falco Lombardi. Much like James and Fox, Riley and Falco were damn near identical. Both had a similar stature, similar physical characteristics, and the same natural born talent. Falco was a friend to the McClouds also, although his unmistakable personality didn't put him as close as Fox and Wolf. Falco was the kind of guy that would back you up in a fight, but would most likely bet money against you first. Falco, being only fourteen at this time, inherited most of his father's traits, which was to be expected. The Lombardi's have always been a headstrong, brash family, but have always been highly skilled in piloting aircrafts.

Now, enough with the character explanations. More will come later. In the meantime, let's go back to some more background information.

Corneria. Population: 43.7 billion. A planet teeming with life and technology. Cars load the streets, buildings cover the ground, and people overflow city corners. A prime example of these facts is the capital, Corneria City. It is, by far, the largest city on Corneria, with roughly 2.2 billion inhabitants. Due to the fact that Andross never attacked, this city was able to flourish, and technology in the city evolved exceptionally well. They skipped generations of improvement and went straight to state-of-the-arc sciences. Their communications, their weaponry, their transportation; all developed and increased exponentially. Some of this new-found technology went to the engineering-science wing of Cornerian research. Mainly, exploration of other systems.

This is where it all begins.

* * *

**Cornerian Defense Force HQ - Cornerian Space Exploration wing**

"Sir?" a Cornerian scientist spoke from his station. "Sir, the drones… they…" he stuttered shakily.

"What's wrong Vince?" a second scientist asked. Vince's white fur appeared green because of the screen he was staring at. He was shaking, and his eyes were bigger than saucers.

"The satellite," he echoed, trying to catch his breath. "System U-8… We… we got a positive reading."

The second scientist opened his muzzle wide. "P-Positive? You can't be-"

"It- it's true. Positive readings. _Overwhelmingly_ positive readings."

"But… We've sent drones to that system hundreds of times, why are we just now getting a positive reading?"

Vince shrugged. "I-I'm not sure…" He turned to the second scientist. "Keep an eye on my station. I- I have to get Pepper right now."

Vince shot up and dashed out the set of doors into the white hallways of the CDF headquarters. The wandering Cornerians stopped and stared at the arctic fox running through the hall, bumping into soldiers as he rushed for the General. His short white hair was being blown backwards due to the speed he was carrying. The white vulpine lost his footing and slammed into the door to the bloodhound's quarters. Holding his shoulder, he knocked furiously on the General's door.

"General!" he shouted, wailing on the door.

Pepper opened the door with a scowl on his face. "What's the problem?" he said, almost growling at the scientist.

Vince was shaking noticeably, and the General instantly realized the poor little scientist had just seen something. Vince threw his hand up in a haphazard salute, breathing heavily.

"Sir. The satellites we sent to system U-8… we've finally got a positive reading from one…"

Pepper's eyes shot open wider than the awestruck scientist's did when he first discovered the readings. "You… you mean…" he started as best as he could.

Vince nodded. "We've tested positive for life sources on the surface of the third planet in U-8. This is the first time we've ever gotten these readings before."

Pepper leaned on the wall next to him. His breathing intensified as he stared straight into the bright blue eyes of the white vulpine. "If these readings are true, I want you to send more satellites to that area. Find out more about this planet. I want as much information as you can give me."

Vince nodded and threw up his hand. "Understood, sir. We'll have satellites in the atmosphere of that planet in a few days. We'll give you information as soon as it becomes available to us."

"Good. Get working on it." Pepper stated, and the arctic fox rushed back into the communications room. Pepper closed his room up again, and sat on the chair up against the wall of the room. The inner turmoil within Pepper's mind was increasing with every second he didn't act. He was too busy thinking about what he should do. Should he stay in silence and study the civilization? Should he try to contact this newly discovered planet? Or should he launch an attack?

He decided to wait, because he was yet to be informed on how advanced this civilization was. He needed advice. He needed help. Pepper quickly stood up and patched a call through to his long-time friend, hoping to get some assistance.

"Ah, General Pepper," The orange vulpine said as he became visible on the bloodhound's screen. He instantly cocked his head as he saw the condition of the General. "Is… there something troubling you sir?"

"As a matter of fact James, yes… I need your help."

James removed the sunglasses from his green eyes as Pepper continued. "Our lead scientist in charge of intergalactic exploration, Vince Stazac, just came to me moments ago saying that the satellite his team sent to System U-8 radioed in with positive results."

"Positive?" James repeated, cocking his head. "Like… _life_ positive?" he asked slowly, not breaking his stare on the general.

"Indeed," Pepper responded. "I've already told Vince to send more drones to the area. If we can get a concrete picture of the lifeforms on this planet, we may be able to set up communications."

"Communications with these alien creatures?"

"Exactly."

James rubbed the bottom of his muzzle. "Do we know of anything else other than there being life on the planet itself?"

"Not at the moment. Like I said before, Vince is already sending satellites to orbit the atmosphere around that planet. Those satellites will give us more than enough information to deduce weather or not we should set up an alliance."

"An alliance," James echoed, a faint smile creasing his face. "Hmm… I like the plan General… But if I may ask, how does this involve me?"

"I was hoping you'd ask," Pepper smiled. "If we do set up some form of an alliance, I'll assume we need a physical delegate to represent ourselves. I'd like you and the rest of Star Fox to act as an escort for our representatives."

James smile grew larger and larger with every word the general said. "Wow, it's an honor General. I… I don't know what else to say…" he managed to say, still trying to regain his bearings after the bomb that had been dropped on him.

Pepper smiled at the vulpine. "You've got time to think, McCloud. I'll have Stazac give you calls whenever they find anything of importance."

"Sounds good General. McCloud out." The screen faded to black, and the vulpine faded away. Pepper looked out the window of his office, overlooking the giant skyscrapers that lined Corneria's skyline. The city looked peaceful, even in broad daylight. He sighed as he slouched down in his office chair. The phone on his desk suddenly rang loudly, startling the middle aged bloodhound.

"General Pepper," He stated firmly into the receiver.

"General? It's Stazac. We've found something, sir." The arctic fox's shaky voice came back.

"What is it?" the bloodhound asked intently.

"This life source… it's… it's more developed than we previously thought."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, sir, shortly after our probe got into the atmosphere of the planet and gave us our positive readings, it reported an outside interference. Something like a mechanical failure that wasn't caused by an internal malfunction. A few seconds afterward, we completely lost contact with it. Putting it into plain words, sir, _our probe was shot down_."

Pepper was obviously intrigued. One moment, they discover an entirely new life system. The next moment, they attack and destroy their satellite on impulse, almost if they were trying to defend themselves.

"Stand by; I'll be there in a second," Pepper responded, and put the receiver down. He got up out of his chair and made his way down the hall towards the communications room. He burst through the doors of the satellite observations room, not upset, but completely confused and desperate for answers.

"Vince, what happened?" he asked calmly, but there was still a hint of impatience in his voice.

"A whole shit ton happened, general!" Vince snapped scornfully, wrapping his hands around his muzzle. The scientist looked flustered, and his eyes were jumping from one screen to another, trying to come up with a logical explanation for what had just transpired. He shifted his glance to the general and lowered his ears.

"I-I'm sorry sir. I didn't mean to go off on you like that. I'm… just really flustered right now…" he said humbly, staring at the screen.

"Alright, Vince, calm down and explain to me what's going on."

Vince took a few seconds to catch his breath, and pulled up the satellite communications. The screen was flashing red with the words 'CONNECTION LOST' blinking periodically. He sighed as he spoke to the general.

"This… our satellite got compromised. I don't know if it got completely destroyed, but our connection was terminated only a few minutes ago."

"What hit it, Stazac?" Pepper asked.

"Tough to say," Vince said confusedly. "The way our satellite reacted to this leads me to believe it was a laser-guided anti-air missile launched from the surface of this planet."

"Laser-guided weaponry?" Pepper scoffed humorously, cracking a smile. "Don't you think that kind of weaponry is underdeveloped for a civilization?"

"That's what I was thinking," Vince agreed, not breaking his stare on the screen. "Whoever, or _what_ever, these alien creatures are, they sure don't want us around here." A few seconds of silence passed, then Vince decided to break the ice.

"Do you think this is an act of war, general? Like, do you think this calls for retaliatory measures?"

Pepper sighed and looked down. He had never declared war yet in his short term as general. He had just been recently promoted in the last two years, so the bloodhound was still trying to figure out what he was supposed to do and how he was supposed to do it. He knew he couldn't physically declare war; that was the Cornerian Government's job. He could give the recommendations to do so, but he was still hesitant on impulsively declaring war on a primitive civilization. As a matter of fact, he had a slight feeling of fear. What could this civilization do if he did agree with his impulses?

"Well, Vince, I would agree with you… under normal circumstances…"

Vince finally broke his stare on the screen and looked directly at the general. "What do you mean by that, sir?" he asked, tilting his head.

Pepper glanced up and gazed at the arctic fox. "This very well have been an accident. As a matter of fact, I do believe it _was_ an accident. They were probably thinking it was some sort of attack. I will let this little incident slide for now, but if anything else happens like this again, as in if our other satellites consistently get destroyed by these creatures, I will have no choice but to declare war, and the outcome will not go in these aliens' favor."

"Do you still want us to launch more satellites, sir?"

"Yes. We still need more information from this civilization. See if you can modify our satellites too look… a little less intimidating… if that's even possible. We need cultural information, satellite imagery, everything."

Vince nodded and began swiftly typing coded jargon into the computer. Pepper set his paw on Vince's shoulder.

"Don't overwork yourself, Vince… You're my best scientist, and I don't want our work suffering just because you are."

Vince put on a slight grin. "Thanks general, I won't let you down."

Pepper turned around and began to walk out the door. After taking about ten steps, he turned around and faced the vulpine scientist.

"Like I said Vince, I don't want to start a war with these creatures… Not unless I have to…"


	2. The Tree

**A/N: Thank you guys so much for the feedback so far. I have gotten a bunch of messages asking for a bit of explanation, and I've answered them as best as I can, but this chapter here will hopefully clear the rest up. If, however, you sill have some questions, please feel free to ask. I will always reply to anyone's message, no matter who it is. I was privileged to see that one of the most talented and respected Star Fox writers, Sanitarium, actually left me a bit of advice (or a rant), and I must say he helped me quite a bit with this chapter here. Like I said, this should hopefully explain some loose ends.**

**It's always nice to get the other perspective, no?**

**You guys have a good one, and I'll see you next time!**

* * *

**NASA Kennedy Space Center; October 12, 2035: four years after the first satellite**

"Got eyes on another unidentified satellite. Orbiting 50 miles due east of section 42."

"Another one? That's the seventh one in the past two years!"

"I've already got weapons locked on, shall we fire?"

"No, disengage right now. We don't want to make the same mistake we did four years ago."

"Mistake?"

"The very first satellite we came into contact with we destroyed on impulse. We thought it was a Russian orbital surveillance drone at first because of its construction, but once we retrieved the wreckage we instantly realized we were horribly mistaken."

"If it's not the Russians, then who is it?"

"Some kind of alien race, we think. Is that satellite you're tracking the same as the other ones?"

"Um… no, this one is different… It's much larger; almost three times the size of the others."

"Does it have that same insignia on the port side?"

"What insignia?"

"Oh, I forgot. You're new here. Let me show you."

The two human scientists left the room and made their way down to the storage rooms. The first one swiped a card on the receiver, and the heavy door slid open, revealing a large, disabled satellite looking machine. It was sleek, sliver, and had numerous antennae and steel plates covering the cylindrical machine. The second scientist instantly put two and two together and deduced that the crippled satellite was not a product of earthly ingenuity. The first scientist pointed to a faded blue logo; a wire-like sphere with a sliver ring around it, with what looked to be olive branches underneath it. The scientist could faintly read the words _Cornerian Defense Force_ underneath the insignia.

"That… Is that the first satellite?" the second scientist questioned.

The first one nodded. "This was the first one we shot down almost four years ago. Obviously, wherever this one was sent from, they must have a sentient life source there. Because, well, how else would an alien race be able to launch something so advanced and sophisticated? As far as we know, and as much as we want to, there's no way for us to contact this civilization, unfortunately."

"Well, do you think that this satellite was an attempt to get into contact with _us_?" The second scientist asked, scratching his dark beard.

"I wouldn't bet against it. When we searched this machine the first time, it had countless receivers and antennae that were unfortunately destroyed on impact. We got damn lucky this came down in the Arctic sea, otherwise it would have been completely destroyed."

"Have we at least _tried_ to contact this system?"

The first scientist sighed disappointedly. "We haven't been able to find any useful equipment to establish communications. We actually tried to contact the other satellites that are in orbit, but we can't seem to break the coding on them. We've built a satellite ourselves that we plan to send out there also, but we don't have a specific point of coordinates to program the flight."

"Have you checked this?" the second scientist gently kicked the twisted heap of machinery. "There might be some information still in this."

"Ah, good point. Help me search it."

The second scientist pulled off a metal plate from the alien satellite. He instantly gaped at the sheer amount of plates, chips, and wires in the massive machine. Most of them had been corroded and rusted, and most of the machinery had fallen apart. He dug around some of the wires for a few minutes, then heard something click. He inadvertently disconnected one of the numerous wires, which caused the machine to whir and grind.

"What did you hit, Grant?" the first scientist shouted over the loud grinding.

"Must've bumped a wire. At least we know it still works…" he chuckled.

"Well, yeah, I guess… Keep searching."

* * *

**Corneria City Suburbs**

"Fox! Wake up!" Vixy shouted from downstairs. "Your father needs you!"

After a brief few minutes, Vixy heard footsteps from upstairs, but she quickly realized the person creating the noise was not the vulpine she was paging. Instead, it was a large, grey, purple eyed lupine. He was wearing a white t-shirt with some black shorts, and his grey furred legs glistened in the sunlight seeping in through the front door.

"Oh, morning Wolf," She said cheerfully, not losing her trademark smile. She planted a kiss on the lupine's muzzle as he walked by. "Sleep well?"

Wolf tilted his head, resulting in a loud crack. "Better than I have been," he said, putting inflection on the second part of the sentence. He wrapped his left arm around his chest, trying to loosen it.

"That's good," she made a faint glance to the kitchen. "Hungry at all?"

"Of course," Wolf said with a grin.

"Oh, can you get Fox up for me? Your father needs him for something."

"Ugh, fine," Wolf said before trudging upstairs. There were three upstairs room in the relatively large McCloud household. It wasn't a huge house by any means, but it was still the largest house within ten blocks. The first upstairs room on the left was Wolf's room, the one behind it was an unused bedroom, and the room on the right was Fox's. Fox's door was cracked slightly, and Wolf gingerly stuck his muzzle through the tiny opening in the doorframe. Fox was out cold, lying flat on his back with his head turned to the wall next to him. He was partially buried under a thick blue and white plaid blanket. As Wolf slowly made his way to the sleeping vulpine, he could hear the young fox's breathing against the wall.

"Wakie wakie, Foxie," Wolf hummed, rubbing the vulpine's exposed shoulder. The teenage Fox grunted softly, then rolled over with his eyes partially opened.

"Hmng… Wha…" Fox mumbled, almost sounding like he was in a drunken stupor. Wolf couldn't help but chuckle at the orange vulpine's incoherent murmuring.

"Better get your ass moving, Fox," Wolf stated, patting the kit's head. "Dad needs you for something."

Fox opened his eyes wider and stretched out his arms. He groaned loudly as he sat up in his bed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "Ngh… I'll… I'll be down in a sec…" he grumbled. His grumbling came on deaf ears, as Fox glanced at the door just in time to see the tip of Wolf's tail disappear behind the doorframe.

Fox was not the definition of a morning person. As most teenagers do, he loved to stay up late and wake up late. He hated being woken up before 10, and made sure that everyone knew it.

Fox took a glance at the clock on his nightstand. 09:27. Fox groaned and let his head fall back on his pillow. He gazed up at the ceiling, watching as his little model Arwing floated around above his bed.

_I_ _want one of those so bad_, Fox wished, before finally throwing the heavy blanket off of his legs and standing up. He threw on a pair of blue jeans and a grey t-shirt with a Cornerian sports team insignia stitched onto the left breast. He combed his paw through his white mohawk as he reopened the door to his room and slowly found his way downstairs. The stairs led to the main room, where two couches sat up against the south and east walls, and a decently sized TV sat hung up on the north wall.

The TV was playing the local news, and the picture on the screen showed a standoff between Cornerian police, and what looked to be a team of bank robbers. Fox was usually interested in this kind of drama, but his dad needed him, and he didn't want to keep him waiting. He glanced down at the time on the cable box below the TV. 09:36. Fox grunted as he quickly jerked around and walked into the kitchen.

Wolf was in the kitchen just to the left of the stairs, pounding a plate of what looked to be scrambled eggs. Vixy was at the sink, and glanced over her shoulder as Fox walked in.

"Good morning Fox," she said cheerfully, almost in a song-like fashion.

"Hi mom," Fox replied, stretching his arms again. "Wolf said that dad needed me?"

"Right, he's out in the garage," Vixy pointed at the door to the garage with the pan she was cleaning. Fox swiped a donut from a box on the counter as he walked out into the garage.

"Dad?" Fox looked around the room, but found no sign of his father. He only saw his father's black sports car, and Wolf's motorbike leaning up against the wall. He took a large bite out of the donut as he opened the back door that led into their backyard. Their backyard wasn't huge, but there was a giant oak tree that had to be upwards of 80 feet tall right dead center in the yard; completely shading the entire house and lawn. Fox looked up at the tree and saw something dangling from a high branch. Another long look revealed it to be a bushy brown tail with a white tip, much like his own. Fox shifted his gaze even higher and saw the rest of his father sitting on that high branch, gazing out towards Corneria City. He glanced down and smiled as he heard the teenager's footsteps on the grass.

"Dahahad!" Fox laughed as his father gave him a sly smile.

"Come on Fox, get up here and join me," James shouted, holding his hand downward. It didn't matter; James was still almost forty feet off the ground. Fox polished off the rest of his breakfast, and then found his footing on the massive tree. He grunted and exhaled heavily as he reached for one foothold after the other. As Fox scaled the tree to almost where his father was sitting, and heard a loud crack, and suddenly felt the branch underneath him give way. Fox inhaled and prepared to scream as he plummeted to the ground, but strangely didn't feel the ground getting closer to him. He could only feel a paw clasped around his right forearm. He glanced up to see a pair of dark sunglasses staring at him.

"I gotcha," James assured, lifting Fox almost effortlessly onto the think branch he had been sitting on. Fox was lighter than most of the vulpines in his age group, only weighing a measly 95 pounds, but all of it was pure muscle as he could easily hold his own during school sports. That didn't discourage James, as he could easily pick up the thirteen-year-old vulpine and carry him around like he was nothing. Fox exhaled as he felt the tree branch with his tail.

"Thanks, dad," Fox smiled, making the older vulpine grin.

"Not a problem, kit," James said, rubbing his paw on the top of Fox's head.

Fox looked around at the leaves surrounding them. "Why are you even up here, anyway?"

James shrugged. "To be fairly honest, Fox, I don't even know the answer to that. I was getting tired of fixing up the car and felt like taking a break. I saw that this branch right here was fairly high up and I wanted to see if I could still climb this thing," he smiled, stretching his arms. "I eventually lost track of time once I got here and looked out and saw the skyline of Corneria City."

Fox grinned, then glanced down at the ground from his high perch on the tree. After a few seconds of silence except for the wind rustling the leaves, Fox finally spoke up. "So, you wanted to talk to me, dad?"

"Yes, Fox," James answered almost instantly, taking off his dark shades. His pale green eyes reflected in Fox's, almost as if he was looking into a mirror. "A few years ago, I was given the greatest opportunity of my life, and now that it has finally become relevant again, I think you should be the first one I tell it to."

"You got a promotion?" Fox asked excitedly and impulsively.

"I wish," James chuckled. "However, this is better than any promotion I could ever get."

"What, is it another assignment?" Fox asked, a hint of bitterness in his tone. Fox hated when his father was sent on missions, because it meant that he wouldn't see him for weeks, even months at a time. He always came back unscathed, but Fox always feared that there would be a first time for everything.

James instantly caught the bitter tone from the vulpine and was quick to respond. "No, no, it's not another mission," James spoke quick, patting Fox's back. "At least… not yet…"

Fox cocked his head. "Not yet?" he echoed, somewhat disappointedly, but curiously.

"Hold on a sec, let me finish," James said, consoling the kit. "I _have_ been assigned a mission, but not until the general gives me the ok."

"What's the mission, dad?"

James sighed and looked towards the sky. "You've heard the news over the years about the things we've been finding in space, right?"

"Yeah," Fox replied, implying the 'duh' tone.

James gave the kit a look that could see through concrete walls. "What have you heard?"

"Well," Fox tried to respond, but found himself looking down and folding his ears over. "Nothing… really."

James chuckled faintly, then stared into Fox's eyes with a sly grin. "We're not alone in the universe."

Fox's ears instantly perked up again. "Are you serious?" he asked, even though he knew his father was dead serious.

"Yup. From what the company told me, we found another sentient civilization in the universe. Apparently, these creatures are called humans, and they live in a planetary system that is billions of light years away."

"Wow," Fox gaped, completely awestruck. "Well? Where do they live? What do they look like?" he started his barrage of questions, but James quickly hushed the curious vulpine.

"We don't know very much about them right now. We do know is that their technology is not as advanced as ours. They have cars, airplanes, boats, and stuff like that, but they rely mostly on primitive fuel sources, like oil and nuclear generators for example."

"Do these humans act like us?"

"I would assume no, but I'm not the person that was researching this. All _I've_ been told is the means of transportation for the species, and what kind of military they have. Heh, they're so underdeveloped that they still use kinetic weapons. Can you believe that?"

"Wait," Fox stopped his father from rambling. "What's this mission you were assigned?"

James sighed, gazing into Fox's emerald eyes. "General Pepper wants me and the rest of the Star Fox team to go to this planet when they get a concrete picture of the civilization. They want us to escort Pepper and some other Lylat delegates to the surface to potentially set up communications with the planet, but for all I know that may not be the case."

Those last six words stabbed into Fox like a sharp broadsword. He had watched his father go off into war before, and it was the most painful experience the little vulpine had ever dealt with. He never wanted to see his father leave him for too long ever again; mainly because he was afraid of losing him.

Fox opened his maw to express his feelings against this, but was cut off by a sharp ringing from his father's wrist.

"One sec, Fox," he said calmly, lifting his arm up to his muzzle. "McCloud… Oh, uh, hi Vince. You need something?"

Fox's eyes lit up as his father mentioned Vince's name. Vince was always kind and compassionate towards the little vulpine, and Fox looked up to him as an idol. Fox always thought of the arctic fox as an uncle, and James never argued with him; mainly because James and Vince had been friends for longer than either of them could remember. They were essentially brothers.

James listened intently as the arctic fox's faint words spewed out of his wristwatch. "So, you did decide to launch the big one… Any success? …Oh, really? …But I thought… They can? …Well, why haven't they? …Oh, I suppose you make a good argument there… Yeah, I understand… Heh, yeah I know, _you're_ the scientist… Yup… You want me to bring the little one too? …Sure thing… I'll be there as soon as I can… Yup, see ya."

James turned his head to the kit. "Vince has something he wants to show us… you ready?"

"Yeah!" Fox responded enthusiastically. His ears and tail twitched wildly.

James grunted as he repositioned himself on the giant branch. He took a deep breath, placed his paws on the branch, and flung himself forward. As the ground became closer, James reached out his paw and grabbed onto a smaller branch about ten feet off the ground. He growled softly as he let go and landed feet first on the ground. He turned around to Fox, who was gaping at the athleticism of his father.

"You coming or what?" James smirked, holding out his arms. As Fox attempted to stand up on the thick tree branch, a piece of bark chipped off under his foot, causing Fox to lose his balance and fall backwards. Fox plummeted to the ground at a speed too fast for the older vulpine to react in time for.

Luckily, someone else did react in time.

James saw a grey streak shoot out from his peripheral vision and snatch the young vulpine just as he was about to hit the ground. He rushed over to where the streak had stopped, and sighed in relief as he saw a gray tail wiggling from the ground.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, let go of me Wolf," Fox whined under the heavy lupine.

"Excuse me?" Wolf smirked, rolling over and pinning Fox by his forearms. "I think I just saved your tail a few seconds ago, at least give me some form of thanks."

"Why should I?" Fox grunted, trying to free his arms. "You're kinda crushing me, Wolf."

"Come on, say it,"

"No," Fox said stoically.

"Say it," he repeated with inflection.

"Dad!" Fox shouted. "Tell him to get off of me!"

James couldn't help but chuckle. "Give him what he wants, Fox."

"Say it…" Wolf repeated, sticking his tongue out of his muzzle and inching closer to Fox's face.

"No."

"You're forcing my hand, runt," Wolf chuckled.

"I'm not gonna," Fox reiterated.

"Suit yourself," Wolf smiled, before revealing his lupine tongue completely and licking the entire left side of Fox's face. Fox whined and moaned as he rubbed his face against the ground, trying to get the saliva out of his fur.

"I'll do it again if you don't say anything," Wolf threatened, revealing the tip of his tongue out of the side of his maw again.

"Ugh, fine," Fox groaned in defeat. "_Thank you_, Wolf," he stated bitterly. "Now would it kill you to brush your teeth once in a while?"

James cracked up at the remark, which only caused Wolf to growl softly and pick the teenage vulpine up and set him on his shoulders.

"What are you doing?" Fox questioned, sounding annoyed. He tried as much as he could, but was unable to break Wolf's hold.

"Making sure you don't end up trying to kill yourself again," Wolf grunted, tossing Fox into the back seat of James' car. He smirked as he slammed the door, and walked to the other side of the black sports car and entered through the passenger side door. James slid in on the driver's side a few seconds later, still chuckling at the pervious encounter. He noticed Wolf's violet eyes next to him and instantly opened his mouth to question.

"I'm assuming you overheard most of our conversation?"

Wolf shook his head. "Not all of it. Just the call with you and Vince. I'm just tagging along to see what's up."

James shrugged his shoulders. "Fine by me. Does your mother know?"

Wolf nodded. "She's cool with it, just as long as we're back home before sundown."

"Great," James slipped his dark shades over his eyes and slowly pulled the car out of the garage. He then did a sharp 90 degree turn to the right, and effortlessly made his way around the winding suburban streets and in no time flat was on the highway heading south to Corneria City. Fox laid his arm on the outside of the window, letting the cool spring breeze sooth his fur and trying to dry the rest of Wolf's saliva from his face. His ears flapped wildly as James increased his speed on the highway. After a rather boring and uneventful ten minutes, the monotony of the ride and the sensations of the car bumping got the best of Fox. He slowly started nodding off, and in no time flat was fast asleep in the car.

* * *

**Kennedy Space Center**

"Find anything yet, Grant?"

"I… might have… I just found this huge circuit board. It might be the main data chip. It still works, too."

"Let me see it," the scientist reached for the large, thin, blue plate in Grant's hand. After a few minutes of carefully and thoroughly examining the circuit board, he suddenly gasped.

"This is just what we need. This board should have all the information we need on it."

"What's on it?" Grant questioned.

"Flight data, coordinates, observations, the whole nine yards. This will give us the first actual legitimate example on who, or _what_, these people are and what they want from us. Not only that, we can back-trace this plate, and hopefully get an idea on where in the vast universe they are."

#####

Grant sat down next to the other scientist, huddled around the dual computer screens.

"Got everything hooked up?" the scientist asked, waking his computer from sleep mode.

Grant shrugged. "Should be… I don't see why it wouldn't work."

The other scientist nodded and began rifling through his computer's hard drive, searching for the information locked on the Cornerian circuit board. He drummed his left hand on the desk as his right hand clicked on every document and stored data on the computer; searching for just the tiniest bit of information.

"Whoever these… '_Cornerians'_ are, they know their shit," the scientist grumbled. "It's coded well; I can't seem to find its information anywhere."

"Have you tried overwriting the signal it's producing right now?" Grant asked.

"It's producing a signal? How?"

Grant shrugged. "Must be a self-powered chip. Try to override its signal like any other circuit board."

"I can try… but I don't see how that would-" he froze as thousands of folders suddenly appeared and cluttered his screen. Literally thousands of folders were strewn about his desktop monitor, each one with a specific name such as 'Diagnostics', 'Data', 'Power Plans', 'Flight Data', 'Mechanics', and,

"Observations!" the scientist said loud enough to sound excited, but quiet enough so that the entire building wouldn't flock to his station. "Let's see what these little buggers are up to."

Files. Thousands upon thousands of files, each one carrying a specific title covered the monitor. Most had a variation of numbers, which they deduced to be some kind of dating system. The scientist clicked on a file marked '14-070-15:58' and gaped at the amount of words on the file.

"This satellite wrote all of this down?" Grant asked in disbelief. There had to be at least a quarter of a million words on the document. Most of it was written down in a language he didn't understand, but it was still a lot to take in.

"I really wish I could understand this," the first scientist spoke, sounding disappointed. "This could be really valuable information, but either they have a different language, or a really effective coding program. I can't get a grasp at what this machine was taking notes on."

The first scientist backtracked a bit, coming back to the first folders. He opened the folder marked 'Flight Data' and rummaged around that file, desperately searching for much needed information.

"Okay, so it looks like this has a set flight pattern," the scientist stated, quickly combing his hair behind his ears. "If I can decode this information, I can get a set-in-stone point of coordinates. This could help us figure out where we can launch our satellite. All I need to do is…" he clicked on a program on the screen, and the numbers and letters began to rearrange themselves, which made the scientist smile faintly. When the program beeped, signaling it had finished, there was a large set of red numbers right under the words 'mission start'.

"There's our culprit."


	3. Revelations

**A/N: Looks like weekly updates are perfect. Gave me just enough time to make sure everything was perfect with this chapter. Again, I can't thank you guys enough for the positive support, and I hope this is a trend that continues!**

**You guys have a good one, and I'll see you next week for the next chapter. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

**Cornerian Defense Force HQ**

James pulled up to the red energy gates of the large white building. Usually the CDF didn't spring for heavy protection, but the gates were almost a necessity after the first successful satellite launch. They didn't want anyone getting a hold of their data that was not supposed to. The orange vulpine rolled his window down as the gate guard walked up to the car.

"Can I see some-" the yellow lab started but instantly froze as he saw the dark sunglasses. "Oh, I- I'm sorry, Mr. McCloud. I… didn't recognize you at first, sir," he chuckled sheepishly.

"Not a problem soldier," James smiled.

The soldier tilted his head and looked behind the vulpine. "Ah, I see you brought the kits too. What's the occasion, if I may ask?"

"Stazac called me earlier; said he had something to show me."

"How long you gonna be here, sir?" the canine asked, pulling out a small device.

"Hopefully not for too long. I don't want to overstay my welcome," James chuckled.

The yellow lab grinned and nodded his head. He trotted over to the booth and pressed a button, letting the red gates disengage. He gave James a thumbs-up, and James throttled up and drove through the gates. He slowly wound around the lot, before parking in a space only a few feet away from the main entrance to the headquarters. There was a sign just at the start of the parking space with the famous logo painted on it; a black fox with a large wing sprouting out of its back. James exhaled as he turned the car's engine off, and slowly stepped out of the machine. He chuckled as he saw the other orange vulpine asleep in the back seat.

"Don't worry Wolf, I'll get him," James piped up as the lupine reached for the back seat door handle. Wolf obliged, and began walking towards the main entrance. James walked his way around the car and opened the door, revealing the young fox with his head dangling on the seatbelt. He combed his paw through Fox's fur as he spoke softly.

"Fox, we're here… wake up, kit."

Fox grunted, and reached out his arms toward his father. "Carry me," he half mumbled and half slurred.

James chuckled, and lifted the vulpine out of the car. He held Fox's legs with his arms, and Fox laid his muzzle on top of James' head. Fox loosely wrapped his arms around his father's neck as they slowly walked to the main entrance.

"You're getting too heavy for this," James grinned, hoisting the little vulpine higher on his back. Fox had a cheesy smile as they walked into the massive building. It looked like an airport terminal, but instead of tourists and flight attendants, there were Cornerians in lab coats and highly equipped soldiers wandering the floors of the giant military headquarters. They walked up to the receptionists; a grey furred feline with a dark overcoat and a microphone dangling from her ear. She glanced up at the duo and squealed softly.

"Aww, you two are just way too adorable," she purred.

James gave her a proud smile. "He's a piece of work, don't let that sly smile get to ya."

The feline giggled as Fox rubbed his nose on his father's ear. "So, what are you here for, Mr. McCloud?"

"I'm supposed to be meeting someone here; Vince Stazac."

The feline nodded, and typed a few keys on her computer. "Stazac is on the third floor, west wing; room 12."

"Thanks," James smiled before walking over to the elevator. About halfway there, he swiftly jerked around, almost throwing Fox from his shoulders.

"Did you happen to see Wolf come in here?" he questioned. He lost the lupine when he went to get Fox out of the car.

"O'Donnell? I think he turned down the hall towards the barracks."

"Ah, thanks," he waved before stepping into the empty elevator. He pressed the number 3, and waited as the elevator rose up slowly.

"What does Uncle Vince want, dad?" Fox suddenly said right in James' ear, startling the older vulpine.

"Probably something about the satellites," James responded after catching his breath. "They sent another satellite yesterday, and they wanted me to come see the results."

"Cool," Fox said before burying his muzzle in James' hair. James smiled as he felt the breath leave the kit's nose.

The door opened, and James' jaw fell at the sights in the hallway. Scientists were rushing in and out of the doors, dropping papers as they quickly sped between rooms. The Cornerians were yelling over the sounds of instruments buzzing and blaring. It looked like a bunch of freshman in high school that were late for the first class of the day. Streaks of white kept temporarily blinding the older vulpine, even through his dark shades. Fox tried to get down, but James tightened his grip.

"Stay up there, I don't want to lose you in this mob."

James slowly inched his way through the hallway, getting bumped and hit from all angles by the paranoid scientists. James himself started to feel a little worried as most of the Cornerian scientists never lost their cool this bad. The only thing that would make them this edgy would be if they found some kind of ground-breaking information, which James instantly speculated that they did, considering the fact Vince had never called him in months prior.

"Vince!" James shouted at the sight of the short haired arctic fox at his station. Vince turned around and his ears instantly perked up.

"Oh, there you are James," he sighed heavily. Vince looked like he hadn't slept in days. His fur was matted, his hair was spiked out in all directions, and his white lab coat was stained and wrinkled. He smiled faintly as he saw the kit on James' shoulders.

"Hey Fox, sorry about this whole situation we're dealing with," he chuckled sheepishly.

"What is this 'whole situation', Vince?" James questioned, setting the kit down on the chair next to him. Fox's curiosity got the best of him instantly, as he started wandering around the room, gazing at all the equipment.

"The giant satellite we sent a few days ago?" Vince started, slicking back his hair. "We're getting way too much information from it. I mean, we're getting a shit ton of information and we can't keep up with it."

"What kind on information?" James asked, sitting at the station next to the arctic fox. He carefully removed his signature shades and stared intently at Vince's screens.

"For starters," Vince began, "These humans… They are split into hundreds of countries. Some are allied with others, and others have full-fledged wars brewing. Secondly, their military is much more primitive than we thought."

"As in?"

"You already knew they still used kinetic weaponry, but we also found out that they also still use infrared signals and satellite targeting."

James scoffed, grinning faintly. "Damn, you weren't kidding."

"I know, right?" Vince smiled. "Their aircrafts are also fairly underdeveloped. They are somewhat slow, and still require the usage of a landing strip."

"Good grief," James groaned, placing his paw over his face. "Anything else you want to share that isn't cringe-worthy?"

"Um…" Vince thought, trying to keep himself from laughing at the orange vulpine's statement. After thinking with a sly grin smeared on his face, he finally broke the silence.

"They're… kinda weird looking…" he stated frankly. "And that coming from me," he added, showing off his pearly white teeth with a goofy smile.

"How so?" James chuckled at the face the arctic fox just made.

"They are relatively furless. I mean, they have fur, but… only on the males for some reason. They do have hair though, but it comes off as greasy and matted sometimes."

"Interesting," James hummed, gripping his muzzle. Vince noticed his action and quickly added.

"Another thing. Their faces are relatively flat," he said, then put his paw around James' muzzle. "None of these," he chuckled, shaking the vulpine's facial protrusion playfully.

"Alright, I get it," James grunted nasally, prying Vince's wrist from his nose. "What about these?" he forcefully moved Vince's arm back to his own body, and made his paw slap and rub his snowy white ears.

"Oh, uh…" Vince grunted as he removed his wrist from James' grip. "Ear wise, and keep in mind my major is in engineering, not anatomy," he grinned, but continued on. "They have them, but much different than ours. They're located on the sides of the head, not on top."

"How's that work?"

"I guess their ear canals go straight through the sides of their heads instead of on top. Like I said James, not a biologist."

Jams still gave the white vulpine a quizzical look. "Ain't that strange…"

"And, another weird thing these humans have… or rather _don't_ have, are tails… completely nonexistent."

"No tails?" James repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Nope." Vince said, popping his lips on the letter 'p'.

"These humans _are_ weird," James stated, caressing his muzzle that Vince shook around.

Vince grinned sheepishly and spun back around to face his computer. "Anatomy lessons aside, there are also various climate zones on this planet, much like our own. Fertile farming grounds cover the surface, and there are countless mountain ranges sprawled all over the planet. There is also on the southern-most pole of the planet, a giant ice cap completely devoid of all life."

"Any other climates?"

"All sorts. The widest part of their planet that is the closest to their star is covered in tropics. Once you start going away from that center line and go towards the polar regions, it becomes cooler and more of a forested planet. Keep going north, or south, and the trees give way to a frozen tundra type landscape, much like Fichina. There are also deserts, plains, coastal areas, highlands, everything."

"Not only that," Vince added before James could even put in his own two cents. "The planet itself is mostly water. Over 75% is covered in some sort of water source."

James quickly butted into Vince's ramble. "Hmm, considering the immense amount of water on this planet's surface, do they have a lot of warfare on open seas?"

"Sometimes," Vince shrugged. "They have what's called a 'Navy'. It's basically a department of the military focused on aquatic defense. Apparently many of the countries have been invaded by other countries by boat."

"Hmm," James hummed.

"Also, this will be important to you, so listen closely." He pulled up a map of Earth and displayed it on his computer screen. He zoomed in on the western hemisphere, and pointed to a large section of a massive continent.

"This right here," he gestured to the northern section of the continent, "Is a country called the United States. If you were ever planning on setting up an alliance with the planet, even though I wouldn't recommend doing so, I suggest starting with this country here. It's the most advanced and the most powerful nation on the planet."

"Ah, thanks for the tip," James smiled, patting the scientist's back. "You wonder why I keep you around."

Vince turned his head and nodded towards Fox, who was wandering around the room, looking at the countless computer screens. "He's another reason."

"Good point," James chuckled. "I, honestly, am really impressed with Fox. He has never gotten into trouble ever, he's extremely intelligent, and he also has a way with working with machines. Did you know he helped me fix up the old sporty last week?"

"Him?" Vince echoed in disbelief. "Wow."

"That's what I said," James responded, looking up at the ceiling. "I owe some of this to you, Vince. He wouldn't be this interested in science and technology if you weren't here."

Vince smiled and flicked his tail. "I thought he always wanted to go into sports?"

"He did, but then all this intergalactic stuff happened, and now that's all he talks about anymore. He almost drowned me in questions this morning about this system."

Vince chuckled softly. "I'll make sure to put his name down when he's old enough," he smirked, playfully smacking James' arm. James was about to punch back, but was stopped as Vince's computer started buzzing loudly.

"Oh… _Oh_…" he gaped at the screen. "What the hell is this? Our first satellite is online again."

"What?" James half shouted. "I thought the first one was compromised."

"I thought so too," Vince replied, not breaking his death stare on the monitor. "This is the emergency signal when the main diagnostics chip is removed."

"You don't suppose they are trying to decode it?"

"I'd put credits on it, but I wouldn't put credits on them solving it. We used the latest coding encryption methods, and I'd say that they still have some primitive means of decoding. Still, that doesn't rule out the possibility of them successfully decoding it."

Vince suddenly gasped, clamping his left paw on his forehead. "Our coordinates. They could find out our coordinates."

"Vince," James said softly, but his plea came on deaf ears.

Vince started to panic. "They could be on our doorstep in a week. They could launch an attack! Oh god, what have we-"

"Vince," James shook the scientist's shoulder. "They have no ways of getting to us. Their aircrafts can barely break Mach speed, and they only have primitive satellites in terms of space technology. We'll be fine."

The white vulpine calmed down and sighed in relief. "That's true. We are billions of light years away, there's no chance of them getting to us." He glanced down at his keyboard, mumbling to himself trying to reassure himself of the situation.

"Only _us_ getting to _them_."

**Cornerian Defense Force Barracks**

Wolf popped into the mess hall of the giant military building. He often times did this to meet up with some of his friends that he had made whilst enlisted in the Academy. One of them being a small female Siberian husky that he had come to admire in his classes. She had a brilliant white coat of fur, with patches of light cinnamon brown fur on her face. That same light brown color worked around her arms, tail, ears, and back. Her hair, which was a relatively darker sandy brown, exploded off of her head and ran around her pointy ears all the way down to beyond her shoulder blades. She was easily the most attractive canine in the Academy, and Wolf knew it. He was able to create a great and lasting relationship with the copper husky, but still was yet to take it to the next step as much as he wanted to.

He spotted the husky instantly, and his heart instantly warmed up to her beautiful figure. _Still beautiful as ever_, he thought to himself. _She changed her hair too, I don't remember the bangs in front of her ears. Whatever, it doesn't matter; she's still gorgeous. Oh, what I would do to have her in my life…_

"Well, Miss Spitz, how's the force been treating ya?" Wolf smiled, sliding into the seat next to her and laying his muzzle on her shoulder.

"Wolf, please don't call me that," the husky giggled, shrugging her shoulder to make Wolf's head fall off.

"Fine then, _Sheila_," he said with a sarcastic inflection, "How you been doing?"

"Meh, not bad," Sheila smirked, taking a sip of her water bottle.

"Not bad?" Wolf echoed. "You just got promoted to lead Husky Squadron pilot and you're saying you're _not bad_?"

"Oh, so you've heard?" the copper husky said, pushing her long bangs out of her eyes. "How'd you know?"

"Kinda hard not to when it's all over the news."

"They seriously put that on the news?" Sheila sighed, putting her paw over her left eye. She glanced over at Wolf with her pale blue eyes wide open, spewing questions. "Did I look good? Was my hair ok? Was-"

"You were beautiful," Wolf stated warmly, laying his paw on the canine's shoulder.

"Oh," she grinned, feeling a rush of heat in her cheeks. "Thanks… but we both know you're just saying that to make me feel better."

"How could you think I didn't really mean that?" Wolf asked, trying to sound hurt.

"Well… I-I don't-"

"Are you blushing?" Wolf interrupted with a cheesy smile.

"Wha- no I'm not," Shelia glared, but she couldn't deny or control the burning sensation in her face.

"Oh my god you're blushing!" Wolf laughed.

"You're so mean," she whined, trying to say as stoic as possible, but found a slight smile creasing her face. She eventually broke down giggling as Wolf lowered his ears. She looked down to try to avoid his gaze, but there was only so much she could do to get away from him.

Wolf leaned over and whispered in her ear. "I think someone likes me…" he said tauntingly.

Sheila jerked her head around, almost butting heads with the lupine. "What if I do?" she snapped, but instantly reeled back and covered her muzzle in disbelief at what she revealed.

"I was only- _what_?" Wolf stared at the husky, almost as shocked as she was. They sat there at the empty table in silence, staring at each other, waiting for someone to break the ice.

Sheila quickly tried to patch things up. "Wolf, I- I mean, um, I… ah forget it…" she sighed, and glanced down at the ground. "I admit it."

"Admit what?" Wolf asked in a low voice. "Are… you serious? You can't be serious."

"I'm just gonna spare the drama," the canine stated frankly, then lifted her head back up. "Wolf, I like you. There, I said it," she admitted quickly, then turned her head away and waited for the response.

"Me?" Wolf repeated, enlarging his violet eyes and keeping his muzzle wide open. "W-why?"

"Well, we've been friends for so long, and after a while, I… I felt kinda strange. Whenever I was around you, I just felt this weird feeling, and," her voice trailed off as she glanced back at Wolf. Much to her surprise, Wolf was smiling. A cheesy, happy, and most of all, loving smile plastered itself on Wolf's maw. He leaned back over to the husky and wrapped his arm around her.

"I know exactly how you feel… because that's how I was the first time I met you."

"Y-you too?" she stuttered, her muzzle dropping to the floor.

Wolf half-nodded, and looked up at the ceiling. "There's no easy way to say this… but I liked you too. The first day of the Academy, I saw you, and I was instantly attracted to you," he explained sheepishly, sometimes scratching the back of his neck. "I wanted to ask you out after a while but… in all honesty… I was shy. That caught me by surprise, because I'm never shy around anyone."

A faint purring sound resounded from Sheila's maw as she responded. "To be honest, I… I was shy around you too. Once we got to know each other a bit, the shyness started to die down, but I still was hesitant on asking your opinion on me."

Wolf cracked a smiled, and looked back down at the cinnamon colored husky. "Can I say it now?" he asked intently, his tail flicking wildly.

"I guess," she giggled, drawing closer to the lupine.

Wolf sighed and brought his voice to a low whisper; his face mere inches away from Sheila's. "You are the most intelligent, beautiful, and kind-hearted girl I've ever met, and I would want nothing more than to spend all of my time with someone like you," he said flawlessly, almost as if he had been rehearsing it.

Sheila started tearing up, and spoke quietly. "Same goes for me too."

Sheila suddenly got a burst of courage, and leaned a few inches forward, joining both their muzzles together. Wolf cradled the back of her head, and locked himself in a deep and passionate kiss with the husky. Both of them wanted this moment to last forever. However, that was not the case, as a tall, muscular black raven came up behind them and squawked, jerking the two out of their moment.

"What the hell are you doing O'Donnell?!" he smirked, then walked around the table, plopping down across from the lupine.

Wolf staggered backward, almost falling out of his seat. "Holy shit Dennis don't do that!"

"Aw, screw you Dennis," Sheila giggled, throwing her plastic spoon at the bird.

"So… you finally got the balls to ask, eh Wolf?" Dennis chirped with a sly smile.

"I would say yes, but _I_ didn't ask…"

"Woah, hold on, she asked you?" Dennis asked with an eyebrow raised

"It's," Wolf sighed, shaking his head with a smile. "It's complicated. Just know that we finally got together." He turned his head and gave a grin to the husky.

Dennis folded his hands and placed his elbows on the table. "Seriously though, I'm happy for you two. I honestly couldn't see a better match for either of you. Well, maybe Sheila, but-"

"You're an ass!" Wolf chuckled, swiping at the raven. After Dennis' laughter subsided, he lowered his voice and glanced at the lupine.

"Hmm, have any plans later?" Dennis cooed, winking at Wolf.

"I don't know, do we?" Wolf turned his head to Sheila, winking in the same manner Dennis did.

"Oh, aren't you a charming little puppy," she purred, twirling her long, sandy hair with her paw. Dennis instantly exploded into laughter, and buried his beak into his arms. Wolf blushed noticeably and wrapped his arm around the husky. She leaned her head in and whispered in his ear.

"Call me later; obviously we need a little privacy," she said softly, before sticking her tongue in the lupine's ear, causing him to stagger backwards and almost fall out of his seat. Wolf was glowing a bright red as he resituated himself, but heard a voice call out from behind him.

"Wolf! Let's head out!" James yelled, waving his paw at the table.

"Looks like you need to go," Sheila smiled, still in a state of disbelief at what had just happened not five minutes ago.

"Ah, alright. I'll call you later," Wolf smiled, giving another comforting hug to the canine. Sheila snuck in a kiss on the lupine's muzzle as he pulled away, making him grin even larger.

"See ya Wolf," she said warmly, and watched as his grey tail disappeared around the corner. She turned around and glared at Dennis once the lupine was out of earshot.

"What?" Dennis chuckled, holding his wings out by his sides. "Don't get mad at me, I was just curious."

Dennis was older than the husky; he being 27 and Sheila only being 19, but he sure didn't act his age. He would constantly crack jokes and try to make any situation lighter. Some of his humor came on some controversial grounds sometimes, but he was always well liked amongst everyone in the CDF. In terms of military rankings, Dennis was much lower than Sheila, which flared up his jealousy, but he still respected the young commander. He was a massive and intimidating raven, standing at six foot six and almost 220 pounds, but he was very kind and compassionate once you got to know him.

"Just go easy on him, Dennis," she stated, taking another drink from her silver bottle. "I know you like to mess with the younger fellas, including me, but can you lay it off for a bit with us please? Just until we can get a feeling for what we've gotten ourselves into?"

"Not a prob, Spitzie," Dennis grinned, trying to withhold his faint chuckling.

Sheila heard the laughter and quickly jumped on him. "That's an order, Corax," she barked firmly, but calmly, glaring at the raven with an evil grin.

"Alright, alright, I'll go easy on you two," Dennis said in defeat. "For now…"

"Dennis," she said slowly, trying to guilt-trip the avian. Dennis instantly threw his wings up.

"Alright, I'm done! I promise!" he squawked, slowly standing up and walking backwards to the door. "I will not say another word!"

"You're talking right now, aren't you?" she said slyly, winking at him.

"Ahhh, dammit dammit dammit da-" his voice faintly trailed off as he walked out the door. Sheila giggled as she finished the rest of her water. As she stood up, her wrist transmitter buzzed loudly.

"Spitz," she stated firmly into the receiver. She listened as a familiar voice began speaking. Once the person had finished relaying his message, she instantly responded.

"Not a problem general, I'll be there as soon as I can."

**Kennedy Space Center**

"Hey Sanders, did you ever call Colonel Trent about this whole ordeal?" Grant suddenly asked.

"Oh, shit, I never thought of that," Sanders grumbled. "Gimme your phone for a sec, I can patch a call through to him."

Grant reluctantly handed the other scientist his phone, and in less than eight seconds was on the phone with the officer.

If you look up the word 'intimidation' in the dictionary, you will find a picture of Colonel Justin Trent right next to it. He is a big, stocky man with muscles on top of his muscles. Trent is a little younger than middle aged, but he could effectively command an army in no time flat. He had a deep voice, which furthered his intimidation factor even more. Although his stature would state otherwise, he wasn't big into combat. He was mainly focused more on military sciences and communications, which always made for a good laugh in the office. Unlike his physical appearance, Trent was a kindhearted soldier, and would take time out of his busy schedule to see if everything was running smoothly.

"Sir?" the scientist said into the device. "Sir it's Sanders. We've found something, we need you here as soon as possible… No it's nothing bad… It's that alien satellite… Yes, sir, I apologize for not asking for your permission first, but my partner and I were able to decode the data somewhat… Yes sir…" he removed the phone from his face and spoke to the other scientist.

"He'll be here in a sec. Good news, he's in a good mood, and he's always been interested in these alien satellites."

A few minutes passed, and the door to the communications room opened, revealing Colonel Trent. All the scientists instantly sprang up and gave their salute to the superior officer.

"Okay boys, enough of the formalities," he stated casually. "Grant, Sanders, what's up?"

Sanders sat back down and pointed to the large data chip. "Grant pulled that chip out of the alien satellite, and it turns out that it was completely loaded with all sorts of valuable information."

The colonel hummed curiously, and pointed at the screen. "It that what you were able to grab from it?"

"Yes sir," he stated proudly. Trent leaned in closer, and his eyes nearly bulged out of his head.

"Coordinates?" Sanders and Grant nodded simultaneously. Trent continued.

"Can we use these to-"

"Send our own observation satellite? Yes sir," Sanders finished for him. Trent nodded in approval.

"You guys already have a satellite built, correct?"

"Yes sir," Sanders replied.

"And you can just program the flight plans to these coordinates?"

"Yes sir," Sanders repeated.

"You two are amazing," Trent laughed, putting his hands on the scientists' shoulders.

"There's only one problem, sir," Sanders spoke hesitantly, not wanting to invoke the Colonel's rage.

"And what would that be?" he asked somewhat disappointedly.

Sanders drummed his fingers on the desk. "Well, we've never tested a long distance launch like this. There's way too many variables that we don't know yet. We don't know this planet's gravitational pull, if there are any obstacles, if there will be any interference from the star or the other planets, if-"

"Alright, I understand," Trent cut him off. He didn't sound upset, he sounded more or less curious about these observations. His eyes suddenly shifted to the chip on the table. "Would that have some of that information?"

"Actually, yes. I'm pretty sure it would."

Sanders turned his chair around and quickly began scanning the files scattered on his computer. Trent leaned on the scientist's chair and gazed intently and curiously at the screen.

"Is that translated?" Trent asked suddenly.

"As a matter of fact, no," Sanders replied. "These file names were in English when we first got them. Doesn't really matter though, the contents of these files are coded extremely well."

"Coded?" Trent echoed.

Sanders shrugged. "Guess these aliens thought ahead… It's not basic coding either, it's got an almost flawless encryption system."

"Damn," Trent whispered.

Sanders suddenly gasped as he moused over a file marked 'Corneria'. "There! Corneria."

"That's the name on the satellites, correct?"

"Yes, sir," he opened the file, but was disheartened at what he saw. "Gah, this is coded too?"

"Wait," Trent interrupted, "That's not coded language, that's measurements." He pointed at a few numbers and words. "See? That's their alien measurement scale."

"Still, I don't know what it means."

"You don't need to," Trent smirked. He stole the mouse from the scientist and scrolled through the massive amounts of information. He stopped suddenly as he finally found a word he understood.

"Oxygen…" he said faintly in disbelief. "This alien planet has oxygen."

"Not to be rude, sir, but I could have easily told you that."

"No, no, hold on," the Colonel said slowly. "I'm still looking. Looks as though the name of this planet given by these aliens is actually Corneria. Must be a company on the planet itself that's sending these satellites."

Another minute passed in silence. The only noise being made was the mouse wheel scrolling though the information Trent was gazing at. Trent suddenly had an idea pop into his head.

"Wait, is the data they took from our planet look somewhat like this?"

Sanders cocked an eyebrow. "Yeah… how does that help us, sir?"

"With a little bit of calculations, we could translate their measurements for their planetary mass and gravitational pull into our measurement scale."

"Aw, sir, you're brilliant!"

Trent smiled and scrolled through the data on Earth the satellite had collected. He snatched up a notepad from behind the keyboard and began jotting down some notes. He wrote down Earth's mass on one corner of the small notepad, then copied down the measurements for the same subject in the Cornerian scale. He then did the same thing for Corneria; copying down the Cornerian measurement and left the other corner blank.

"And the other kids in my algebra class said we would never use this stuff," he chuckled to himself as he effortlessly completed the ratios and had a measurement for the planetary mass of Corneria.

"Wow… It's not too far off from us. Only a couple thousand kilograms larger than Earth. If that's the case, their gravitational pull shouldn't be much stronger than ours. My suggestion for this satellite; try to make it more resilient against the outer gravitational fields, so we can take into consideration possible outside interferences, like you mentioned earlier."

"Understood," Sanders said, unable to comprehend what he just witnessed. He just watched his superior military officer completely dumbfound him in terms of mathematical knowledge. Grant elbowed the scientist, chuckling faintly.

"So, when do you want us to proceed with the launch, sir?" Grant spoke, himself still awestruck with the Colonel's knowledge.

"Well, if the satellite is completed, and assuming you can program the flight plan into it fairly quickly, I want that satellite off the ground in a few hours. M'kay?"

"Yes, sir," they recited in unison. Trent gave them a thumb up, and began walking out the door. He stopped in the doorway and glanced up to the ceiling. After thinking for a few minutes, he turned around and faced the two scientists.

"I want to find out what these alien sons of bitches want from us."


	4. Rock(s)

**Corneria City Suburbs: 3 days later**

Ever since his father had showed him the spot on the giant oak tree, Fox would sit up there for hours on end listening to music, working on schoolwork, or just taking time to relax. The tree branch suspended forty feet off the ground was Fox's one place where he felt free. He felt at home being held off of the ground by the giant tree. He felt like nothing could go wrong from up there. Though he almost killed himself falling from that branch three days ago, Fox felt like that branch was his second home, even if his first home was merely twenty footsteps from the base of the tree.

This day, Fox was sitting on that branch with his back up against the trunk. If he looked to his left, he could see his house, and turning to the right would give him the breathtaking view of Corneria City. The city looked even better at night. All of the massive buildings were illuminated, and it looked like a picture straight out of a magazine.

He had his modified sleek black guitar with him with the special built in amplifier that his father had made for him. It was Fox's prized possession. He got it for his twelfth birthday, and within months of getting it, he learned to play it flawlessly. What he loved about it was that it could switch its sound output from electric to acoustic, base, or even synth with the simple flick of a switch.

He began to strum some of the strings into a tune that he had heard on the radio a while back. He instantly fell in love with the song and practiced playing it for weeks on end until he could play it almost perfectly. The notes were low to start out, and as the song progressed on, Fox began to faintly sing along. He wasn't a prefect singer… well, not like most of the others at his school, but he could do it.

"Keep you in the dark, you know they all… pretend," he sang softly, not breaking his concentration on the instrument. In the same way he sand the first part he echoed the next verse. "Keep you in the dark, and so it all… began…"

He suddenly shifted his handle on the guitar and strummed it in a much faster, more aggressive pace. The volume of the notes increased, as well as his singing for the next part.

"Send in your skeletons, sing as their bones go marching in… again… The need you buried deep, the secrets that you keep are ever ready, are you ready?" He slammed on the strings, making the next verses louder and more powerful.

"I've finished making sense, done pleading ignorance, that whole… defense…" He again made another ear splitting strum on the strings, and switched over to another louder riff.

"Spinning infinity, boy, the wheel is spinning me, it's never ending, never ending, same old story!" He sang loudly, exploding into the next verse.

"What if I say I'm not like the others?! What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?! You're the pretender! What if I say I will never surrender?!" Fox sang, completely immersed in his performance. The guitar was wailing loudly as his claws flawlessly made one string ring out right after the other.

"What if I say I'm not like the others?! What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?! You're the pretender! What if I say I will never surrender?!" he repeated, just as perfect as his first outburst. He shifted back down to his first riff and brought his volume down quite a bit as well.

"In time, or so I'm told, I'm just another soul for sale… oh well… The page is out of print, we are not permanent, we're temporary, temporary," Fox raised his voice again as he finished the verse. "Same old story!"

Fox shifted back to the chorus flawlessly and seamlessly, not losing any momentum in his song. "What if I say I'm not like the others?! What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?! You're the pretender! What if I say I will never surrender?!"

Pretty soon Fox wasn't the only one hearing his music. James and Vixy both stepped out of the back door and watched their kit shred the guitar as his song continued to reverberate through the neighborhood. James had a cheesy smile creased across his face as Fox repeated the chorus.

"What if I say I'm not like the others?! What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?! You're the pretender! What if I say I will never surrender?!" Fox extended the ending just as the actual song did as he transitioned from the high powered chorus to the next verse. The tempo dropped drastically as well as the volume as Fox's paws played the next notes. His voice also lowered quite a bit as the words came back.

"I'm the voice inside your head, you refuse to hear… I'm the face that you have to face, mirrored in your stare…" He picked up speed, but still continuing the same tune.

"I'm what's left, I'm what's right, I'm the enemy… I'm the hand that will take you down, bring you to your knees…"

His voice started rising again, as well as the guitar's volume. "So who are you? Yeah, who are you?"

He shot into another high powered tune as the next words came screaming out. "Yeah, who are you?! Yeah, who are you?!"

Fox suddenly lowered his voice almost to a whisper as he gracefully sang the next words in a nearly silent tune with the guitar. "Keep you in the dark, you know they all… pretend…"

He drew out the last note longer than the actual song did to increase suspense, and when he thought he had waited long enough, he exploded into a high powered and high volume chorus, much louder than the previous ones. The sudden loud, almost sonic-boom sound that emanated from Fox's guitar tore off a few leaves from the tree he was perched in, and rattled the windows in nearby houses. He sang the words in a very graceful fashion, not losing his tune or rhythm.

"What if I say I'm not like the others?! What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?! You're the pretender! What if I say I will never surrender?! What if I say I'm not like the others?! What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?! You're the pretender! What if I say I will never surrender?!"

Keeping the same loud chorus riff, he slipped into a quieter, familiar verse. "Keep you in the dark, you know they all… pretend…" After repeating that verse, he swiftly reengaged his voice to his high powered chorus, not losing any momentum.

"What if I say I'm not like the others?! What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?! You're the pretender! What if I say I will never surrender?!" Again, Fox drew out the ending as he transitioned into the next words, still hitting every single string damn near perfectly.

"So who are you? Yeah, who are you?! YEAH, WHO ARE YOU?!" Fox screamed at the top of his lungs as he closed out the song with the last six loud strums from the guitar. As soon as his outburst was over, he sighed and dropped his head back on the tree, and let the guitar fall into his lap. There was a serene silence for a few seconds, until two sets of paws broke the silence with a loud cheerful clapping.

"You never told me you were that good!" James laughed, grinning from ear to ear.

Fox smiled and grabbed at his neck. "Wow, thanks," he strapped the guitar on his back and climbed down the tree to see his newest fans.

"I didn't recognize the song, what was it?" James questioned.

"Oh… it wasn't Cornerian music," Fox said hesitantly.

"Not Cornerian music?" James echoed curiously. "Then what is it?"

"It's from System U-8, the satellites were sending back music from their radio stations. They have channels that play their music, and it just got stuck on me."

"Wow… the humans made those kinds of songs?"

"Must be so," Fox smiled, and went to put his guitar away. James stopped him right as he stepped into the doorframe.

"You know any other songs?" James asked, looking at his sleek black guitar.

"A few, yeah… why?"

"You wanna play them for me whenever you get the chance?"

"Uh…" Fox stared blankly at the dark shades on his father. "Sure… If you want me to."

James nodded and followed the kit into the house. Fox ran upstairs and stowed his guitar in the closet in his room, before rushing back downstairs and back outside. Before he even knew it, he was back up on his usual perch on the giant oak tree. A few minutes later, Fox heard a faint sound below him, and suddenly felt a paw grip onto his shoulder.

"What'cha doin', Foxie?" Vixy purred, gaining a comfortable spot on the branch.

"Mom? What are you doing up here?" Fox giggled, watching as his mother struggled to get a good grip on the tree.

"Ah, just wanted to find out what was with you and this tree. Ever since your father showed you up here, that's all I see you anymore is up here."

"Getting lonely?" Fox taunted, wrapping his left arm around the vixen.

"Nah, I just want to spend more time with my kit."

"So, basically you're lonely?" Fox chuckled, which made Vixy's face turn a deeper red. "It's fine, I love you too," he smiled. Vixy purred and nuzzled closer to the teen. Fox suddenly heard a faint screeching sound and saw something just out of his peripheral vision.

"Hey, a meteorite!" Vixy squealed, pointing at the streak in the sky. Fox turned his head and instantly found himself drowning in awe. It looked like a meteorite alright; a small chunk of rock streaking across the sky with a bright yellow-orange tail behind it. It was beautiful, but it still intrigued the vulpine. He had never seen a meteorite glow with such a bright color before. The only meteorite he saw before had a dull yellow tail, not this bright orange.

"Hey hon," Vixy yelled toward the house's open window. "Come look!"

"What is it?" a faint yell came from the house.

"A meteorite! It's really cool, come look!"

Fox was still staring at the blazing hunk of rock soaring across the sky. It looked as though the streak was going away from them, but Fox noticed the rock chunk was getting progressively larger. He didn't know much about physics and gravity, but it does not take a degree in rocket science to know that objects shouldn't get larger unless they are coming towards you.

Vixy noticed this fact as well. "James…" she said loudly, but softly.

"I'm comin', hold on!"

The streak had its trajectory going right over Corneria City. However, as the streak kept inching closer to the city skyline, it didn't get smaller. It kept growing. It had its target in its sights, and there was no way around it.

It was headed straight for the capital.

"James!" Vixy barked firmly. "Get out here right-"

Pain. That's all that could be felt. The excruciating sound emanating from the capital deafened anyone in a 100 mile radius. The blinding white light that poured out from where the streak had stopped attacked the vulpine's eyes. The shock wave that resulted from the cataclysmic explosion violently shook the ground, blew the glass out of the windows of their house, and ripped branches off of the tree they were perched in. As a result, the two foxes were thrown from the tree, landing on the ground forty feet below. The impact, surprisingly, didn't hurt Fox as much as the assault on his senses. Fox landed on the damp grass, temporarily blinded and unable to hear anything but ringing. He only had one thought on his mind.

_What in god's name was that?_

As the ringing began to subside, Fox heard a voice cry out faintly from behind him.

"Fox! Vix! What happened?" James yelled, bending down near the injured vulpines. He stumbled a bit when the ground shook again like aftershocks after an earthquake. It felt as though something extremely heavy toppled onto the ground, and taking into consideration where the shock waves started from, James hoped there would still be a building still standing in the capital.

Fox rolled over and attempted to stand up, but instantly crumpled to the ground as he felt his right leg explode with pain. It felt as though someone had stuck a grenade in Fox's lower leg, and it just now detonated, sending waves of sharp pain over the vulpine's senses.

Wolf shot out of the rattling house and bent near the crippled kit. "Fox! You alright?" he asked, lifting him off the ground.

"My leg," Fox moaned. "My leg's broken. I-I can't move it."

"What the hell happened?"

"I-I don't know," Fox stuttered, unable to withhold the pain.

Wolf cranked his head to James, who was crouched over Vixy. She was lying face down, and was not moving at all. He shouted over the countless car alarms blaring around the house.

"James! We need to get Fox to – _James_?"

James was shaking the vixen's shoulders gingerly. "Vix?" he called out softly and shakily. She hadn't moved a muscle since she hit the ground. Her tail and ears were motionless.

"Ah, fuck it," Wolf growled silently, the raised his voice to get the vulpine's attention. "I'll get you to the hospital Fox. We'll take my bike."

"But, mom," Fox whimpered, crouching down and wrapping his paw around his shattered right leg.

"Dad'll take care of her," Wolf assured. "I'm more worried about you Foxie. Come on, gimme your arm."

"Mom!" Fox called out to get her attention, but she still was not moving.

"Fox, let's go," Wolf commanded.

Fox reluctantly accepted Wolf's paw, and he grabbed the vulpine up and carried him into the garage. James still hadn't made another move, accurately imitating his wife's movement (or lack thereof).

"Vixy?" he repeated with more inflection, and more strength in trying to arouse her.

No response.

"Vix, get up…" James choked, tears beginning to form in the vulpine's green eyes. He tore off his shades and threw them against the tree, shattering them.

Still no response.

"No… no… no no no, Vixy, _please wake up_," James cried softly, lowering himself to almost a crawl. His voice was breaking with every time he repeated his wife's name.

Vixy still was not moving.

James sobbed as he dropped his face onto hers. "Vixy, say something, please!"

Still no response. Not even a tail flick, an ear twitch, or even a breath of recognition.

James surrendered to the fact of reality, and softly exploded into tears. He lifted her limp body off the ground and laid her unmoving head in his lap. He couldn't bring himself to speak again. His voice was too strung out and too drowned in sorrow to work. He could only sit there with his unresponsive wife, making a faint, emotional whimpering sound as tears continued to stream down his fur.

**Kennedy Space Center**

Fifteen confused and petrified scientists yelling and asking questions all at the same time is not a sound you ever want to hear. Luckily, someone got tired of the incoherent yelling and instantly silenced the room with one loud, glass-shattering command.

"SOMEONE JUST TELL ME WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED!" Trent barked, instantly quieting the scientists.

"We lost our satellite," someone courageously piped up after a brief silence.

"Lost? You lost it?" Trent irately shot back.

"I-I-I don't…"

"Someone _please_ explain what went wrong!" Trent snapped, looking away from the stuttering scientist.

"Sir, our satellite malfunctioned," Grant reluctantly explained.

"How?" Trent questioned sternly.

"Well, sir, turns out this system with the planet in it was a binary star system. We never took that into consideration," he responded hesitantly.

"How does that murder our satellite?" he questioned acidly, making the bearded scientist cringe.

"One- one star was much larger, with a heavier gravitational pull. It threw off our satellite's flight course," he explained, stuttering in fear.

"Did it crash into that star?" Trent asked, his rage beginning to subside.

"I don't think so. Our satellite never transmitted higher temperature readings. It did, however, radio in an increase in drag, signifying it came into contact with the atmosphere of another planet."

"So it crashed into a planet?"

"That's what I'm thinking," Grant assumed, continuing to scroll through the satellite's data.

"Alright," Trent lifted his head back up and raised his voice. "Get all the information you collected and-"

"Sir?" Sanders interrupted, holding up his arm.

"What is it Sanders?" Trent questioned, walking over to his station.

"We…" he started shakily, his voice breaking with every word. "Our satellite reported large amounts of oxygen in the atmosphere before we lost contact."

Trent's eyes almost shot out of his skull. "Oh fuck, did we…?"

Sanders nodded with a horrified look.

"We crashed into Corneria."

**Cornerian Defense Force HQ**

The entire city fell into a state of panic.

It all started when one of the scientists at the CDF HQ reported an unidentified object entering Cornerian atmosphere. He speculated that it was some kind of meteorite, much like the McClouds did, but as it came closer and closer to the capital, it did not lose its shape. It retained its shape, and increasingly picked up speed. The atmosphere did not slow this object, and before anyone could get the slightest bit of warning off in time, it struck.

It hit the ground 5 miles away from the main city square. No matter what time of day it was, that plaza would always be crowded. Even at 21:45 Cornerian time, there were still bound to be thousands gathered at the city square.

The object, to the amazement of bystanders, exploded on impact. It wasn't a controlled missile test either; it was a full-on B-52 bombing raid compacted into one measly tube. The explosion shook the city with the force of a 7.5 magnitude earthquake. Corneria City never had to deal with earthquakes before, so the buildings weren't up to snuff in defending against them. Five large skyscrapers were instantly destroyed in the primary explosion, while seven others of similar size crumbled to the ground as a result of the colossal shock wave.

The buildings of the capital were not the only things that suffered. As a result of almost half of the city crumbling to dust, almost half the population crumbled with it. Of the 2.2 billion inhabitants of the massive city, there were an estimated 750 million mortalities in this sudden apocalyptic scene. That's three quarters of a billion people for those keeping track at home… gone. Most were killed instantly, as the explosion exceeded thousands of degrees, and the force could rip apart an entire planet if used correctly. They didn't even know what hit them. One moment, they are with their families, as happy as they could ever be. The next moment, they are corpses in a pile of burning rubble, unbeknownst of what caused their demise.

To add insult to injury, the sudden blast obliterated the city's power generator, plunging what was left of the city into darkness. This did not help matters in the crippled capital whatsoever. However, that didn't stop a particular arctic fox from finding out what caused the city to go into such a state of disarray. He pulled out a flashlight and began searching around the massive HQ after the ensuing aftershocks subsided.

"Is anyone here?" Vince called out shakily. He could not hold the flashlight still, because his paw was shaking so badly at the events that had just transpired. First, the ear splitting sound of an explosion. Then the building went dark. To make matters worse, he heard the sound of splintering wood and grinding metal. The only way he could have heard that is if part of the building itself had succumbed to the blast.

He slowly walked through the seemingly desolate hallway, coming up on the doors of the mess hall. He knew there wasn't going to be anyone in there, but it was worth a shot. It was late, way past the building's closing hours, but he was so caught up in his research he just couldn't bring himself to stop. As he placed his paw on the handle, he heard someone shouting on the other side of the hallway.

"Anyone there?" a deep voice yelled out, while the sound of footsteps progressively got louder as they worked their way around the corner and came within viewpoint of the arctic fox. Vince sighed in relief as he instantly recognized the massive raven.

"Dennis! Thank god you're alright," Vince shouted, placing the beam of light around the bird's 6 foot 6 frame.

"Oh, Vince, it's you," Dennis sighed, lowering his large rifle. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Vince stated frankly, tilting back his ears. "I was getting ready to leave when this all happened. I heard an explosion, and the power cut out. Literally right before this, I saw something enter the atmosphere though… like a meteorite."

"So it was a meteor strike?" Dennis questioned.

Vince frowned and shook his head. "Meteors don't explode, Dennis. Something hit the planet and I have no idea what."

"Whatever it is, we need to get outside. It's not safe in here; the building is falling apart."

Dennis reeled around and sprinted down the hall. Vince had to struggle to keep up with the raven, since he was significantly shorter and less fit than Dennis. As they exited through a set of double doors, they froze at a horrifying sight.

The city was almost completely destroyed.

"What. The. Fuck." Dennis squawked, dropping the rifle from his hands.

Vince pulled out his transmitter and tried to patch a call through. He growled as he lowered his wrist after an unsuccessful fifteen seconds.

"I can't get a call through," he said disappointingly, which made Dennis' rage even stronger.

"Great!" he started sarcastically, throwing his wings into the air. "No power, no comms, no anything. Not even a fucking capital city anymore!"

Vince suddenly gasped. "Where's Pepper? We need to find him!"

"Agreed," Dennis grunted, and pulled his flashlight back out. "We gotta find a way to get to his quarters from here."

"Ah, that's easy," the vulpine responded quickly. "This way, hurry!"

#####

"Should be right down this hallw– are you serious?" Dennis complained, looking at the charred remnants of the HQ's main hallway. Turns out, by a sadistic twist of fate, one of the tallest skyscrapers in the capital toppled onto the main lobby, completely destroying it and shrouding it in dust and rubble. Pepper's room was on the other side of the mountain of rubble, but there was no easy way to get around it.

Vince staggered backwards, almost as if someone punched him, and gripped the cracked concrete wall. "What… what is hap– oh god…" he whispered faintly, trying to regain his sanity.

"General? You out there?" Dennis shouted over the pile of rubble. He waited a few seconds but did not get a response. He turned to the petrified arctic fox and laid a giant wing on his shoulder.

"You know of a better way around?" Dennis asked, making a faint glance to what should have been the rest of the hallway.

Vince regained his bearings and pointed at an adjacent hallway that was surprisingly not buried under concrete. "Through there… I… I can't breathe…" he struggled, his breathing intensifying into short bursts.

"Vince, calm down buddy," Dennis commanded calmly, patting his shoulder. "We'll get to the bottom of this. Just sit tight, breathe, and I'll go find Pepper."

Vince nodded, and Dennis raised his rifle and ran through the exposed corridor. Vince sat down on a giant chunk of concrete and placed both paws over his face. His confusion and paranoia only increased as he caught a faint whiff of the city's smell.

_Fuel?_

Vince picked his nose up and tried sniffing out the unknown smell. It was fuel alright, but from what? There were no gas lines or gas stations on Corneria, but that smell was unmistakable. He mustered enough strength and walked out of the shattered glass doors and out into what was left of an empty parking lot. The smell only intensified.

"I picked the wrong day to stay late," Vince whispered with a faint grin, slowly walking out to see the skyline over the HQ building. He worked his way around the building, climbing over large chunks of material taken from adjacent buildings. His heart instantly fell into his stomach as he gazed out into the city. The burning, crumbling, _nonexistent_ city.

"Holy shit," Vince whispered, feeling lightheaded and staggering down to solid ground. He plopped down on the front steps of the HQ and buried his paws into his hair.

_That wasn't a meteorite… What was it then? Was it a missile? It'd have to be a missile. But why? Why would someone attack our capital? And who? Who in their right mind would try to instigate us? Do they know who they're dealing with? _

_Whoever it is, I'll say it right now: they're in for a world of pain. _

_And it won't be pretty._

* * *

**A/N: Dun dun dunnnn... XD**

**Anyway, for those of you wondering, the song Fox was singing was "The Pretender" by Foo Fighters. It's one of my personal favorite songs so I figured why not? Haha regardless, I hope you guys enjoyed, and If you guys are interested on what happens next, go ahead and follow or favorite this. Not only does it benefit you guys, but it tells me if you guys are truly enjoying this story and are dying to see more. It's a win-win for both of us! :)**

**You guys have a good one, and I'll see you guys next time!**


	5. Re-Education

**A/N: Thank you guys so much for the support for this. I can say, from a first-person standpoint, I can tell my writing has improved ever since the first chapter was uploaded because of the feedback I've received. If you don't believe it, maybe this will change your mindset... ;)**

**You guys have a good one, and I'll see you next time!**

* * *

"Pepper!" Dennis shouted loudly as he sprinted down the halls. The walls were cracked and on the verge of crumbling down on top of the raven. He opened every door he came across, even if he had to smash them in with the stock of his rifle, but each door wielded no answer to his pleas. There was, however, one door left in the hall, and it was the last one he had to check.

"Pepper!" Dennis called out from behind the door, but still had no response from it. He growled and smashed the handle with the butt of his gun, and forcefully kicked the door in.

Empty.

"Where the fuck are you?!" Dennis squawked, holding his arms up in defeat. He instantly froze as he felt a cold sensation on his neck.

"Who the– Dennis!" Sheila gasped, removing the handgun from the raven's throat. "What's goin' on?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Dennis admitted, leaning up against the doorframe. "All I know is that Corneria City has been compromised."

"Compromised? How?" she asked with a sense of urgency.

Dennis shrugged. "Something from space hit the ground. We don't know what it was."

"A meteorite?"

"That's what I assumed, but it can't be possible. It exploded. Not the ground it hit, but the object itself exploded."

"Maybe some space junk or something?"

Dennis responded with a scoff. "I don't know Spitzie. I don't know anything right now. I don't even know who's alive and who isn't."

Sheila held her wrist to her muzzle. "I still can't get anyone on the line. Did you find anyone?"

"I found Stazac wandering around. He's fine, but I haven't found anyone else."

"Awesome! A scientist is just who we need."

"Hey, there's no need for sarcasm!" Dennis chirped, but was instantly silenced by the copper husky.

"That wasn't sarcasm, Corax. Stazac can possibly get our comms lines working. Where is he?"

"Oh, uh… Front lobby, follow me!"

Dennis spun around and started running back to the lobby, when a massive aftershock violently shook the ground and sent the two soldiers to the floor. Sheila struggled to get to her feet and shouted over the continuous rumbling from outside.

"You sure it was something from space?" she asked skeptically. "That sounded like an earthquake aftershock to me."

Dennis shook his head. "Vince saw it. Something shot through the atmosphere and landed directly on top of the capital."

"Then what the hell was that?"

Dennis was silent for a few seconds, then his eyes shot open. "The buildings. They couldn't withstand the blast and shock, and now they're toppling over one by one. One landed almost directly on top of the HQ lobby."

Sheila gasped and put her paw over her muzzle. "Is Pepper alright?"

"I wish I could say yes, but I've been trying to find him for the last five minutes."

"I would say he went home, but I don't know either." She shook her head and snapped back into military mode. "Come on, we need to get to Vince."

**#####**

"That you, Spitz?" Vince asked hesitantly, straining his eyes over the shrouds of dust.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You alright Vince?"

"I- I could be better," he stuttered, staring blankly towards the remnants of Corneria City.

"What happened?" Sheila asked, sitting on the steps next to the arctic fox.

"If I had a credit for every time I heard that," Vince chuckled faintly, then picked his head up to respond. "Well, after looking out here and seeing the damage, it couldn't be a meteorite like the preliminary observations stated. There's too much destruction resulting from one little meteorite… it just doesn't add up."

"Well, what could have caused this?" Sheila asked intently.

Vince looked up at the dark, ash-filled sky and answered. "It had to have been some kind of space junk. A satellite or a missile are the only things that could have caused such a blast. Adding to this, however, is the fact that there's a stench of burning fuel in the air. We don't use gasoline. The only people that could use gasoline is…" he trailed off as his vocal chords got strung up by a sudden realization. Sheila also realized where Vince was going and finished for him, her eyes bulging outward.

"System U-8?"

Vince was on the verge of another panic attack. The one thing that he had worried about when the first satellite started resending signals became a reality. An intergalactic attack.

"I knew this would happen," Vince muttered almost silently.

"What was that?"

"I knew this would fucking happen!" Vince shouted, shooting upward and pacing wildly on the front steps with his head in his paws. "Those aliens just bombed our damn capital! For no reason at that! I can't even put an estimate on how many innocent people they just slaughtered! This is just–"

"Stazac, calm down!" Sheila barked, instantly snapping Vince out of his rant. Vince lowered his ears and continued softly, but angrily.

"If we didn't have a bigger reason for going over there yet, we sure as hell do now!"

"Vince, that's not my authority," Sheila stated humbly. "Only Pepper can initiate war, and we can't even find his ass."

"Do we even know where to look?"

"I can drive over to Pepper's house myself," Dennis suggested. "You two can continue searching this place, and maybe get the transmissions back up."

"Ah, good plan Corax. Vince, you can work with the comms, right?"

"Of course," Vince said with a hint of pride.

"Great. Let's move."

* * *

_We crawl on our knees for you  
Under a sky no longer blue  
We sweat all day long for you_

_But we sow the seeds that see us through  
Cause sometimes dreams just don't come true  
We wait to reap what we are due_

* * *

**Kennedy Space Center**

"Do you realize what we've done?" Trent asked almost silently. You could practically see the steam coming out of his ears.

"Sir, it's not–"

"Don't you even fucking say it's no big deal!" Trent snapped, pointing a finger at the scientist that bravely spoke up.

"It may not seem bad, but it sure as hell is! Well, yeah, our satellite malfunctioned and crashed into a planet. No harm done, right? WRONG! You bet your asses we did something wrong! We crashed into a habited planet for Christ's sake!"

No one dared to make another move. Trent was completely furious.

"We could've crashed into a place where there's no life at all, yeah, but what if we didn't? We could've crashed into the most heavily populated area for all we know!"

Trent suddenly flushed and staggered backwards a few inches. He started off mumbling, but after every sentence his voice raised exponentially. "We just launched an attack. We, the aliens, just _attacked_ them! We launched a rocket propelled intergalactic missile right at their planet! Well shit, we could try to deny it, but what'll that do? Make us seem like we won't fess up to our faults? You betcha! We started war, and won't back it up! We've lost before we've even started!"

Some of the scientists began to murmur to each other faintly. It finally happened; Colonel Trent has left the building. He had completely lost it.

"You saw the satellites in orbit!" He shouted, pointing at the massive screens at the front of the room. "Those things are more advanced than we could ever hope to get! If their satellites are like that, then lord only knows what their military is like. All they would have to do is _look_ at us, and we'd be up in flames!"

Trent started pacing around the room in a haphazard pathway, not breaking stride in his rant. "Might as well surrender now! Better yet, let's evacuate the city! Scratch that, evacuate the nation! Evacuate the whole fucking planet! We just attacked an unworldly power, let's get the hell out of here before they kill us all!"

Trent suddenly turned around and punched the iron wall will all of his enraged power. He continued his rant as if he had never left a massive dent in the wall.

"We could've killed one person, but knowing my god damn awful luck we killed the president, the queen, the prime minister, the dictator, the 'insert other powerful title here', or any other person that would spark a revolution against us!" he snarled, particularly well for a human.

Trent eventually devolved into hysterics. "Know what the aliens are thinking now? We're uncivilized, bloodthirsty, insubordinate assholes that can do whatever we want and not pay the price. But we're looking at quite the lengthy bill we need to pay!"

"Fuck, you know what? They will just come over here on their highly advanced warships and completely wipe the floor with us! They will basically shit all over our throats, and our face, and our children, and our fucking grandparents, and everyone we've ever fucking met ever! They're like, 'Let me find someone and _defecate_ on them. Oh, you met someone new? Lemme shit in their throat too, because you just bombed the ever-living hell out of our planet, and we're fucking pissed about it!'"

Trent suddenly clutched at his chest and dropped down to one knee. He started breathing in long, drawn out breaths, trying to calm himself down before his sudden spike in blood pressure killed him. He always had blood pressure issues, but this was not helping him one bit. He managed to calm himself down quite a bit and sat down on the cold cement floor.

"It's official…" Trent said quietly, gripping his forehead. "We fucked up. We're fucked! We are completely and utterly screwed over to all hell… Welp… We tried. We tried, and we failed miserably."

He suddenly shot up and held his hands way above his head. "I'm done. I give up." He slowly started walking to the door, still plagued by his mental hysteria. "GG everyone. I'll see you all in hell, 'cause that's where we will end up in a few days."

Trent stood in the wide open doorway, holding his head toward the ceiling. He sighed loudly and turned back around to the stunned scientists.

"Listen guys, I'm so sorry I snapped like that. And don't stress too much about it. I just lost my shit… I'll go talk to the general soon and we can maybe sort things out. For now, just gather as much information as you can, get some concrete examples, some possible explanations, and we'll go from there."

Trent again sighed and glanced at the floor.

"Just don't worry guys, seriously. We'll sort things out. My paranoia got the best of me," he chuckled sheepishly. Some of the scientists soon followed suit and continued working.

"Damn, sir," Sanders laughed. "You went off for a while there. Thought you were having a heart attack the way you crumpled down there at the end."

"Like I said Sanders," Trent said softly, putting a massive hand on the scientist. "Paranoia. I'm sure we'll be fine. Hopefully we can explain to Corneria that it was just an unfortunate malfunction. As long as we didn't kill anyone, I'm sure they wound understand."

"Well, what if we did, sir?" Sanders asked hesitantly.

"I sure hope we didn't, but if we did, hopefully we can explain it was just a terrible misunderstanding. Hopefully they aren't too pissed off at us and are willing to accept a truthful apology."

"Yeah, they must know that we aren't as developed as they are, and understand that accidents like this happen."

"True… I'd bet they had accidents all the time. It's just part of improving. You learn from mistakes. You understand your faults, and work towards correcting them."

"See sir? Nothing to worry about," Sanders chuckled. "You hit the nail right on the head. You learn from mistakes. I'll bet at the most, Corneria will let us off with nothing more than a slap on the wrist. Hell, I'd bet that they'd even want to help us, considering the fact we went through all that trouble to try and get into contact with them."

"Ah, good point. We went through hell to try to contact them, why would they punish us for it? Unless we blew up something important, they have no logical reason to retaliate. They know we aren't as advanced as they are, so if they take this as an attack, they're the ones to blame. We didn't do anything wrong on purpose. There was nothing we could do to avoid nailing them."

Sanders pointed to a section of his screen. "Right here. Solar interference threw off our communications with it. Not only that, the gravitational pull from it threw off its orbit. We couldn't fix it, because the solar interference like I said earlier. Must be a pretty massive star if it was able to throw off our instruments so bad."

One scientist piped up after hearing that. "Class two blue giant. We're lucky the satellite didn't get destroyed by it completely."

Trent sighed and shook his head. "We may have gotten lucky, but for all we know Corneria might not have lucked out. Like I said, I sure hope we didn't piss them off too bad."

"It'll be fine colonel," Sanders assured. "It was an accident. I'm sure they'll understand."

Trent patted the scientist's shoulder and lowered his head, whispering faintly.

"I sure hope your right."

* * *

**Urban Corneria City**

"Pops?" Falco coughed loudly in a shroud of dust. His apartment shook violently just minutes ago, and most of the walls and flooring had crumbled slightly. The room was also completely dark, except for some flashes of light leaking through the curtains. The avian managed to stagger around to the front door, then rammed his forewing into the weakened door, breaking one of the hinges and popping the door right open. He had another coughing fit as he stepped out into the street; debris and concrete littering the ground and dust shrouding the air around him. He glanced over and saw that a massive skyscraper that was about two blocks away was completely nonexistent. It would also have been pitch black if there wasn't traces of fire everywhere.

It was an eerie sight indeed; standing in a street with everything demolished around you, with the only light source coming from bright orange blazes being sparked by the felled structures. It looked as if it was a scene straight out of a movie, and that movie used Corneria City as a subject for a pyrotechnics display.

Falco was educated, meaning that he knew that Corneria City could never be susceptible to earthquakes. That ruled out the possibility of a natural disaster, which increased the avian's confusion._ If it wasn't an earthquake, then wouldn't it–_

"Falco!" a dark blue falcon squawked as he exited the remnants of the apartment complex and saw the averaged-sized bird in the street.

"Dad!" Falco shouted, sighing in relief and embracing the taller avian tightly.

"You alright Fal?" Riley said as he bend down and started picking at his son's feathers. Falco ruffled his feathers and whined back.

"I'm fine, I'm fine!"

Riley stood back up and took a long look around the street. The buildings were virtually leveled, and, surprisingly, the only building still standing within four blocks was their small apartment complex. Riley sighed and lifted his wing up to his beak.

"Oh great… lines got knocked out too… What in god's name is happening?" he murmured to himself. He glanced at the fourteen year old falcon leaning against a totaled car.

"Come on, we need to get to HQ. If anyone knows what's going on, it's Pepper."

Falco nodded and followed his father around the crippled building. Riley disappeared inside for a few moments, then came back out with a compact sub-machine gun and a small device. He punched a button on the device, and a door opened behind the building, revealing a sleek, navy blue motorbike. Riley handed Falco a dull red helmet, and stepped onto the bike. After the avians were secure, Riley shot forward and gracefully drove around huge chunks of concrete from the surrounding buildings.

Riley was terrified, and he is never terrified ever. The sights of the crumbled buildings didn't faze him, it was the sights of hundreds, thousands, _millions_ of Cornerians lying dead in the streets or buried in rubble. Men, women, children; it didn't matter. Nobody was spared. The stench of blood and burning buildings plagued the fallen city and assaulted the avian's nose. It was an apocalyptic scene for sure.

Riley tried not to get too preoccupied with his surroundings, but it was like a train wreck. You can't look away. Riley almost lost control of his bike numerous times because of sights he couldn't break his stare off of. He was in utter shock and disbelief that the pride and joy of Corneria; the most advanced and fortified city in the entire Lylat system completely laid to waste by an unknown incident. Unknown.

Riley didn't know what it was. Falco didn't know what it was. The only person that could presumably know what it was miles away, shrouded in streets covered by decimated structures and blazing corpses. The CDF had the equipment to identify it, but no equipment in the world, scratch that, the entire universe could stop it. It was hell bent on destruction.

It was like it was intentional.

Riley piloted around the winding urban streets and skidded to a stop right before the main doors of the CDF HQ. He stood there staring at what had become to the main lobby.

"Not even the HQ could get away from this hell," Riley stated frankly. He turned his head to Falco and patted his shoulder. "Stick with me. We need to look around this place, and hopefully find some answers to this whole situation."

* * *

**Outskirts of Corneria City**

Dennis swiftly rushed up to the door of the bloodhound's home. Knowing the power was still knocked out, he banged on the door and squawked firmly.

"Pepper! It's Corax! You alright?!"

A few seconds of silence only made the raven's paranoia increase. "Pepper! You here?!" He called out again, almost on the verge of ripping the door down with his muscular wings.

The door suddenly swung open, revealing a gray tinged German shepherd in heavy combat gear with a silver handgun pointed right between the raven's eyes. He gasped instantly and lowered the weapon.

"All clear general!" he shouted with a thick, predictable German-esque sounding accent. He sheathed his pistol and glanced back at the raven. "Thank god you're alright, Dennis."

"I could say the same thing to you Wes," Dennis chuckled, stepping into the medium sized house. It was dark due to the lack of power, but there was still a little lantern on the kitchen table doing its best to illuminate the house. The glass doors on the back of the house were cracked, and the furniture looked as though it had shifted slightly from the blast. The familiar bloodhound was sitting in a chair with his head buried in his paws. He heard the raven's voice and instantly perked up.

"Corax! Great to see you!" he said as enthusiastically as he could at the time. He stood up and shook the avian's massive wing.

"Glad to see you're ok, general," Dennis admitted, returning the gesture. He made a faint glance to the canine in the doorway and continued. "Why's Jaeger here sir?"

"Oh, he volunteered to give me an escort home, and as soon as we got here the city exploded."

Wes Jaeger was a large canine for his age group, standing at an even six feet, and had a very muscular body. His fur was an evenly trimmed hybrid of a dark sandy tan and a granite black color with gray highlights, and his gray-black hair was slicked behind his pointy ears. His piercing deep green eyes stared into the raven, almost intimidatingly, but Dennis wasn't scared of the canine. Wes stripped of his heavy CDF jacket and showed off a tight black t-shirt with the sleeves ripped off. He had a set of silver dog tags wrapped around his neck as well.

Wes wasn't the one you would think would have much authority on anyone. He was a product of a non-marital relationship between a German shepherd and a lupine. Not only are wolf-hybrids looked down upon in Cornerian customs, pre-marital offspring only adds to it. However, Wes was stubborn, and he wouldn't be shunned that easily. His natural combat talent combined with wolf-like senses and strength made him a natural for the CDF. However, as aforementioned, it wasn't easy for him. He was worked harder by the CDF officers, mainly because they were racist toward the wolfdog.

And yes, Cornerians are racist towards each other too. Derogatory comments towards people of a different species are common and prevalent. Wes was no exception. He had the shepherd stature and fur, but the wolf color and facial complexion. He was, as previously stated, as hybrid as hybrid could get. However, he was talented, and was a great friend of many. That is, with the people that judge based on personality rather than species.

Dennis spun around and faced the general. "Anyway, about that, I was sent to get you to come to the HQ. There are some people there that need your presence there."

"There's still soldiers there? Who?"

"Spitz and Stazac, sir."

Pepper glanced down with a sly smile. "Man, those two need a promotion or something," he mumbled, then picked his head up to the raven. "Alright, Corax, you drive. Jaeger, you come with us. Let's go!"

* * *

_We crawl on our knees for you  
Under a sky no longer blue  
We sweat all day long for you_

_But we sow the seeds that see us through  
Cause sometimes dreams just don't come true  
Look now at what they've done to you_

* * *

**Cornerian Defense Force HQ**

"You sure you know what you're doing?" Sheila asked hesitantly as Vince was sitting there grunting at a large mess of wires.

"Yes… It's just insanely difficult because there's no power to affirm the connection has been re-established." Vince explained, wiping sweat from his fur. He stood back up and glanced at the copper husky.

"Here, take this key; it's the starter for the backup generator. Turn it on, and hit the number 5. It should give enough energy to power this room."

"Alright," she nodded, and rushed out of the room and into the hallway. Sheila sprinted down the hallway with a flashlight in one paw and her other paw hovering around the handgun at her leg. As she swiftly wound the corner, she slammed into another figure and dropped to the cold, cracked floor. When she looked back up, she saw a blue feathered wing hovering around her torso.

"Sorry Sheila," Riley apologized sheepishly, lifting the husky off the ground. "Wait– Sheila? You're here too?"

"Yeah, great to see you too Riley," Sheila grunted, rubbing her paw through her hair. She noticed the slightly smaller avian and smiled faintly.

"Hey Falco, you doin' alright?"

"Not really," Falco stated, looking around the hallway.

"I don't blame ya," Sheila said frankly, then shifted her focus to the older falcon. "What's up?"

"Well, we just narrowly escaped that explosion, and instantly came here because we thought there might be some explanation here," Riley explained.

"We're speculating it was some kind of attack by the U-8 inhabitants. There was burning fuel in the air, and the only people that would use that stuff is the humans."

"The humans bombed us?" Riley asked disbelievingly and skeptically, his blue eyes shooting wide open.

"That's what we're thinking. Hey, go into the comms room, Vince is in there and he might be able to explain more. I gotta go and get the backup generator going."

"Alright, good luck Spitz," Riley called out as the husky bolted down the hall. He gestured Falco to follow and they walked down the long hallway down to where a heavy door was wide open. They glanced inside to see an arctic fox sitting on a table with a bunch of wires running around his claws, grumbling to himself.

"Ok, this goes here… and that wire needs to be replaced… damn I need a drink… This one should wrap around– Riley!" Vince shouted as the shadow he cast in front of the large flashlight cut off his vision to the wires.

"Sup Stacy," Riley chuckled, removing himself from the flashlight's beam. He sat up against the table Vince was sitting on and continued. "I, well, _literally_ ran into Sheila coming in here, and she said you have a bit of an explanation for what's going on?"

"Somewhat," Vince grunted, peeling a rubber stopper off the tip of a long red wire. "Our preliminary observations concluded it was a meteorite that struck the city, but once the damn thing exploded we were instantly proven wrong."

He threw down the wire and picked up a smaller green one. "Not only that, but there was the awful stench of burning gasoline, which points a giant 'I did it' sign right at System U-8."

"Wow..." Riley said faintly, glancing down at the dark floor. "I can't believe the humans would attack like that."

"You're telling me," Vince started, wrapping two wires together. "I was the one doing research on these alien creatures for years, and we were always under the assumption that their technology was too primitive and underdeveloped to even make contact with us, let alone launch a bomb strike against our capital."

"Primitive?" Riley echoed, cocking his head.

"As in, the only sign of interplanetary development was a few unsophisticated satellites in their atmosphere, and a few orbiting around the adjacent planets. We never expected them to jump straight to intergalactic communications, so we just left them alone except for sending a few of our own satellites to the planet to get a firm grasp of the civilization."

"And that's when they took down our satellite?"

"Yup… Just a few days ago, that same satellite radioed in an emergency signal when the main diagnostics chip is removed. That's when we speculated that they had gotten our coordinates, and obviously they used them to send a message to us, and not a welcoming one either."

"Man… they really escalated this intergalactic contact in a negative way, eh?"

Vince looked up and stared into the falcon's eyes with a death stare. He lowered his voice and stated as sternly and stoically as he could possibly go.

"You tell me…" the vulpine commanded in a much harsher tone than he expected. "Look outside, look at the pure devastation they left us with, the countless _innocent_ lives they claimed, and all the chaos they've created, and tell me if this has been a negative escalation."

Riley just stood there with a blank stare, pondering the words that had just spewed out of the fox's mouth. He hated to admit it, but Vince was right. It had escalated quickly, and not in a good way.

"Also, I know how the cliché movies go, and I can tell you right now, _it was not an accident_."

"Vince?" Riley said hesitantly as he saw the pure hatred and animosity brewing from the arctic fox. He had never seen him so livid before.

"It's too coincidental…" Vince said, his voice rising with every word. "There's no way that it was an accident because that missile or whatever the hell it was hit the ground almost directly on top of the main city square! There is absolutely no way we weren't targeted directly!"

Riley nodded his head slowly. He was the scientist, he did the research, and there was no way to prove him wrong. Not even in this case as his rage was slowly revealing itself with every acidic word he spewed out.

"Those aliens killed millions, Riley… I don't even have to look around the city to prove that. At least half of the city was destroyed. Half the god damn city! I saw it! There was practically nothing left! Some of the tallest and most stable skyscrapers in Corneria were reduced to dust, almost as if they weren't even there in the first place! Completely GONE!"

Riley attempted to calm him down but Vince kept on ranting. "Pepper told me he didn't want to declare war on this planet unless he had to… If this isn't a good enough reason to then I don't know what is!"

His voice slowly devolved into an enraged snarl, as a spiteful scowl painted itself on his face. "And if they think they can bomb our capital and kill millions of innocent people, and try to just sit there and say it was a god damn ACCIDENT!" He slammed his fist on the table, startling the two falcons. For a few long, painfully quiet seconds he sat there with his head drooped and breathing heavily with his hand indented in the table. The echo of the rattling table reverberated around the small room. Vince's rage somewhat calmed into a low, vengeful growl as he finished his sentence, not looking up from the floor.

"They're in for a rude awakening…"

* * *

_I won't crawl on my knees for you  
I won't believe the lies that hide the truth  
I won't sweat one more drop for you_

_Cause we are the rust upon your gears  
We are the insect in your ears  
We crawl  
We crawl  
We crawl; all over you_

_We sow the seeds that see us through  
Our days are precious and so few  
We all reap what we are due_

_Under this sky no longer blue  
We bring a dawn long overdue  
We crawl  
We crawl  
We crawl; all over you_

_*Rise Against – Re-Education (Through Labor)*_


	6. Missing Pieces

**A/N: I can already hear it now. "Oh, here goes Sheppard again, for the umpteenth time, he's thanking us for reading, he wants us to leave reviews, thoughts, questions, and wants us to follow/favorite if we enjoyed. Blah blah blah shut up already Shep! Jeez!" Well god damn I'm sorry if I tend to repeat myself a lot! Haha anyway, enough of my brain. Chapter 6 is up, enjoy! And please, listen to yourself as I mentioned before. You could do nothing, sure, but anything helps. Anything at all. :)**

**You guys have a good one, and I will see you next time!**

* * *

**Rockford, Illinois**

"What are these?" a tall bearded man questioned to himself curiously as he gazed through his telescope out into the star filled night sky.

"They look like satellites… but for what? I've never seen a design so foreign and intricate before…" He adjusted his lens and focused on a large body portion of the cylindrical machine.

"Wait, we don't put emblems on our satellites… What does that say?" He zoomed in on a faint blue and silver emblem on the side of the satellite. He lifted an eyebrow and recited the words skeptically.

"Cornerian Defense Force? Never heard of them… Wait…" He stepped away from the large telescope and picked up his smartphone. After a brief search, he found his answer.

"I thought that sounded a bit familiar!" he half yelled, putting his face back on the lens. "It's that military company from Star Fox! Man, those games were great. I loved those games back in the day, although they still haven't made another good one since 64." He sighed as memories flooded his mind of the cutting edge graphics and sounds that the game had to offer. "Those cheesy one-liners were the best," he chuckled.

He stopped his reminiscing and focused back on the satellite. "Anyway, that is probably a codename for the damn NSA and their secret surveillance satellites. They don't tell anybody anything. Although, why would they use a video game company though? Star Fox at that. You'd think they'd use names from shit like TV companies and cell phone providers to make it seem less obvious."

He picked up his phone, and switched between the screen and the lens, his confusion increasing with each transition. "They even used the same logo and everything…"

He chuckled and scratched his beard. "Apparently the NSA loves their furries. Wouldn't surprise me if the people there wore fake ears and tails… filthy animals."

He tilted the telescope upwards slightly, focusing on where the solar plates should have been. "That's… odd… Where are the solar panels? If they wanted to power it, aren't those plates necessary?"

He raised an eyebrow as he studied the rest of the machine. It was a strange machine indeed. As aforementioned, it did not have any reflecting panels on the sides. It was very narrow, but long and sleek, with various sections coated in strange plating. The silver and blue emblem stood out noticeably; covering a large portion of the main hull.

"This… what in god's name is this damn thing," he stated, gazing at the machine. "Apparently the government doesn't want us to know anything. They never said anything about these new satellites. They have to be brand new. State-of-the-arc technology. No wonder they won't tell us."

His monologue was interrupted by a loud buzz from his phone. He stepped away from the telescope and looked at the illuminated screen. He picked it up and looked at the message on the screen.

**"****Hey, Nathan! Listen, I'm being relocated to Tacoma for my new job in about a week or so, and I really need help moving. Could you help a brother out?"**

"Sorry man, I gotta work tomorrow and Thursday. Friday's the only off-day I have and I already have plans." he responded. A few seconds later, the screen lit up again.

**"****Oh come on man! I need your help here!"**

Nathan groaned loudly and began typing a response. "I'll see what I can do. If I help, it won't be for long."

**"****Aw, thank you so much! I really appreciate that, ya know?"**

"Yeah, whatever… you owe me."

**"****Sure, sure, whatever you want. As long as it's reasonable… ;)"**

"M'kay, see ya then," he put his phone down and walked back over to the telescope. To his disheartenment, there was nothing in the lens.

"Okay… where'd it go?" he asked himself, shifting the telescope. After ten minutes of searching every inch of the sky to no avail, his phone began ringing loudly.

"Ngh, pourquoi maitenant?" he grumbled through grinding teeth, picking the phone up and answering it casually.

"Hey, this is Nathan Fox, what'cha need?"

"Hi, uh, Mr. Fox? This is the post office. We've received a package with your name on it."

"Oh," Nathan responded excitedly. "Really? Already?"

"Yup. Would you like to pick it up before we close for the night?"

"Oh, yes, thank you. I'll be there as soon as I can."

Nathan hung up and rubbed his hands together. _About time my ACR got here_.

Nathan Fox is a U.S. Army veteran. He fought two tours of the Middle Eastern 'Waste of Damn Time' as it is affectionately called. He had fallen in love with combat after he enlisted, and worked his way up to Staff Sargent rank. His favorite 'toy' in the war was a sleek black Adaptive Combat Rifle, or ACR for short. He was an excellent shot with the carbine, even at crazy distances. After his tours had concluded, he budgeted his ass off to purchase his very own ACR; exactly the way he wanted it. He even spent extra to purchase a silencer and a special dot sight to accurately imitate his rifle he used in combat.

_Well, whenever the zombie apocalypse happens, or a revolution, or anything that requires self-defense, I'll be prepared._

* * *

**Urban Corneria City**

Driving along what was left of the urban city streets of Corneria City put a sour taste in the general's mouth. Rubble, fire, and most predominantly, bodies, littered the obliterated streets. Dennis drove his truck with extreme caution, since the roads were virtually nonexistent and water lines had ruptured, adding flood like situations to the city for many blocks. As he got to an open stretch of road, he attempted to speed up, but had to swerve to avoid colliding with a grey motorbike racing down the street in the opposite direction.

Pepper instantly jerked his head around and followed the bike. "That was O'Donnell! What's he doing down here?"

"Wasn't that Fox on his back?" Dennis questioned, looking into the mirror.

"I do believe so… Why's he putting that kit in danger like this? The city isn't safe!"

"I have a feeling that he might be hurt… The way he was speeding down this road leads me to believe he's going to the hospital, if it's still standing."

Pepper growled loudly, and sank down in the seat. "I wish I could call them. Transmissions have been down ever since that missile hit."

"You think it was a missile too general?" Dennis asked, turning sharply around a corner.

"There's no debating it. Only a missile could cause a blast as powerful and as devastating as this. It couldn't be a meteorite or some space junk or anything like that. It wouldn't be able to cause this much damage."

"Well, sir, I hate to say it, but Stazac is speculating that it was a System U-8 attack."

Pepper nearly exploded right there. His eyes nearly bulged out of his head, and his muzzle dropped to the floor of the truck. He attempted to speak, but found himself drowning in rage and unable to make his vocal chords work. Wes noticed his discomfort and spoke up.

"General, you alright?"

Pepper glanced over to the canine and responded in a low, spiteful growl with a tone so acidic it could melt through reinforced steel.

"If I said yes, you'd be sorely mistaken, my friend."

* * *

**Cornerian General Hospital**

Amazingly, it was still standing.

The hospital was a fairly large structure nestled in between large business skyscrapers. By a sheer stroke of luck, none of the three massive buildings toppled. Well, not on the hospital at least.

Wolf managed to weave his motorcycle around the countless piles of debris and corpses and found a way to the main entrance of the hospital. He instantly propped the motorcycle up and lifted Fox onto his shoulders. He carried the broken vulpine into the main lobby and sat him in a chair. The receptionist hurtled over the main counter and rushed up to the kit.

"We got another survivor!" she shouted seriously, glancing at the duo. Her short muzzle suddenly fell open as she realized who was sitting on the chair. "Oh, you're James' kit!"

"Yeah, enough about who he is," Wolf shot. "His leg snapped in that blast, you gotta help him."

"Alright," the feline responded. "I'll take him from here. We don't need a power source to set it, so it shouldn't be a problem."

"Thank you," Wolf said softly, patting the kit's head. "Feel better soon Foxie."

Fox made a whimpering noise as he stumbled towards the rooms with the nurse. She turned around and tilted her ears.

"Wolf, right?"

"Yes."

She nodded and disappeared with the injured kit into the operating rooms. Wolf let out a faint groan as he sat up against the wall. He combed his paw through his fur as thoughts flooded his mind.

The city was fine for such a long time, and moments later it's practically nonexistent. It couldn't be a natural disaster. There's just no way Corneria City was so susceptible to a violent act of nature. It was unprecedented. It had to be a violent act by a living creature. But still, by who? Who could have done this? Only one answer came to the lupine's mind, and it was the only one that made sense.

The damn humans.

Wolf clamped his paw around his muzzle. No, it couldn't be correct. They were too primitive, right? There was no possible way to send a rocket millions of light years away or whatever to directly attack their capital. They knew absolutely nothing about Corneria; why would they attack? Why would they instigate a fight with a civilization that for all they knew could be way more advanced than they were? In fact, they _knew_ they were more advanced. But yet they still launch an attack? It couldn't be true. It just didn't add up.

There was something missing from this puzzle, and the one person that needed to know that was miles away.

Pepper needed to know that something wasn't right. The humans had no reason to attack.

Yet, there was still some sadistic coincidences. Whatever the humans sent, it hit the capital almost dead on, almost as if they had deliberately targeted it. The chances of that occurring without a targeting system were practically astronomical. Even a slight angle change on the trajectory of the object could have changed the course of it by miles. One little measurement change could send it flying overhead, harmlessly detonating hundreds of miles away from any sentient life. So much life would have been spared. Yet, it didn't.

Not only that, but it had an arced path. If it was a targeted missile, chances were it would have struck the city head on, not at the crazy angle it entered in. Only mortars had the capability of a precise angled trajectory, and mortars are only land based. Unless the humans had a crazy interstellar mortar system that could attack distant planets light years away, it couldn't be a mortar.

It had to be something else, but what?

A satellite. A failed satellite.

It hit him like a sack of bricks thrown from a fifty story building. Of course; it explained everything. The humans attempted to send a satellite, but along the way it malfunctioned. That explained the angled path, as it was probably a failed attempt at establishing an orbit. It also explained the explosion as well. It smelled like gasoline, and the only reason a satellite should have gas is if they didn't anticipate an outer fuel source. They didn't know if their sun was strong enough to power their instruments. Gasoline is a great alternative.

It was quick too. Three days since they presumably had acquired their coordinates, and a human object is already in their atmosphere. Three days? That's way too quick. You can't register that much data in such a short amount of time. They rushed the satellite exploration, and it malfunctioned because of the lack of time spent on it. They could have prevented so many issues if they would have just taken their time.

It all made sense now. It was an attempt to get into contact. They were trying to do their own research, much like they have done to the humans for years. The unfortunate downside to it was that they rushed it, and the satellite malfunctioned. It _was_ an accident.

But there was no denying those aliens killed most of Corneria City.

Wolf's head started hurting with all these thoughts, so he stood up and started pacing the room. Pacing calmed the lupine, but not by much. It was only an hour since the explosion, but it felt like a lifetime. Wolf was completely in the dark; he had no idea what was still standing, _who_ was still standing, and who _wasn't_ still standing.

He had a specific name for the latter most option, and it pained him to think of it.

He also had a name for the second option, but he wasn't assured of his speculations though.

He needed to see her. Her flowing brown hair, her trademark smile, and her charming stature were still locked in the back of the lupine's mind. That cinnamon brown husky was still out there, and he needed to find her. But he couldn't leave Fox like this. He was James' kit. Scratch that, he was his brother. Brothers stick together, no matter what. Wolf was torn between the love of his life, and the closest thing he had to family. He had to choose.

That sentence he thought of affirmed his choice.

_Brothers stick together, no matter what._

"I'll just call her," he muttered quietly, pulling his paw out of his pocket. As he opened his wrist transmitter, he was disheartened in the red letters that popped on screen.

"Well, ain't that just a kick in the ass," he said bitterly, closing the watch.

_Go figure; comms get knocked out in the worst moment possible. How am I supposed to get to Pepper? How can I let Sheila know I'm ok?_

_Is she even ok?_

* * *

**Rockford, Illinois**

"Hell yes," Nathan said as he opened his large silver box that he had received from the post office. The box was a sleek sandy silver color, and had a plush gray foam inside. Along with the foam was a medium sized black carbine with the stock already folded over. The ammunition magazines, red dot sight, and suppressor all came in different packages. Nathan chuckled giddily as he lifted the rifle out of its case.

"Hello gorgeous," Nathan smirked as his eyes ran up and down the frame of the weapon. He lifted it up to its proper stance and again let out a chuckle.

"I hate to admit it, but this one is so much better than the one the army gave to me."

He pulled the small dot sight from the other package and gingerly slid it to its proper place. He pushed his face up against the stock of the carbine, looking through the dot that was displayed.

"Aww, this is so sweet," he said, lowering the rifle. "God I can't wait to use this."

Nathan threw the five extra ammo clips into a backpack, along with the suppressor, and stowed it in the closet of his second story apartment. With the ACR still in hand, he trotted through his small living room and kitchen and walked into the first of two bedrooms in the house. He propped his new toy up against the wall near his desk, and sat down on his office chair and woke up his computer.

"Now, if I can find that damn thing again… maybe I can…"

He shot up and walked to his telescope jutting out of the window. He adjusted the zoom, and searched for the strange satellite. After five minutes or so, he finally located the machine.

"Ok, 14, 720, northeast. Perfect."

He removed his face from the lens and opened his closet. Aside from the numerous worn jeans, the pale blue ski jacket, and the seven hockey jerseys suspended on the rack, there was a large server-like machine nestled in the corner behind a few old hockey sticks. After fiddling with the instruments for what seemed like a lifetime, he grunted and walked back to his desktop.

"Please be right… Just, please… for once in your life be–"

A window popped up on his desktop, showing the familiar silver and blue logo, and numerous options below it.

"Fuck yes!"

His cursor moved over the options, but confusion quickly replaced his elation as he mulled over his options.

"Looks like the Cornerian Defense Force _is_ an actual company… but for what?" He clicked on a word, and his jaw unhinged at the incomprehensible words that filled the window on his computer.

"Okay, I may know most of the English dictionary, but this ain't English." he grumbled confusedly. "Why are the main options in English though? Is this hybrid language?" He stumbled around the countless words, but stopped as he noticed some familiar words.

"Yup, definitely mixed. Scientific English words keep popping up everywhere. This language does look familiar though…" He pulled out his phone and pulled up a translator app. He attempted to type a word in but noticed that a letter he saw was missing on his keyboard.

"Is that a… _b_? …or just a scribble? ...Maybe Korean? Hell, I don't know what that letter is," he grumbled, tossing his phone aside. He continued searching the words on the screen, but it wouldn't matter if he couldn't translate it. It was completely alien to him.

"God I wish I could understand this. Would make this job a hell of a lot easier on me," he murmured, continuously searching the satellite's contents. He backtracked to the main screen, looking at the familiar logo. He groaned loudly as the next option he clicked on yielded the same results; a crazy, indecipherable language.

"Screw it, I give up. I can't understand this shit," he mumbled bitterly, not closing out the program on his computer. He left it on, and would attempt to decipher it later. Right now, it was 10 at night, and he really needed some sleep.

The cold, October air seeped in through the open window, giving chills to the bearded man as he walked over to remove his telescope from the window. He lifted the relatively large object with ease, and gingerly stored it in his closet behind the numerous hockey jerseys. He sighed as he caught the glance of a blue and orange jersey with the number 99 embroidered on the sleeve. He adjusted the jersey, then shut the closet door, as well as the window on the adjacent side. He plopped down on his bed and laid his head on the plush pillow. He looked over and saw his phone sitting on his desk, but shook his head as he thought about his decision.

"Nah, I won't bother him today," Nathan mumbled silently, nuzzling closer to his warm bed. "He doesn't get any days off until Sunday… I'll ask him about this then…"

* * *

**Cornerian Defense Force HQ**

Sheila turned the key and opened a large box in the back room of the HQ. There were countless switches on the inside, each with a label with a certain number or letter on it. Her claw flicked the number 5 switch, and a faint whirring sound emanated from the box.

"That should do it," she whispered, before walking out and started rushing back to where Vince was. She slid to a stop at one of the windows as a silver truck pulled up to the main entrance. She instantly recognized the dark red military jacket exit the vehicle.

"Thank god he's alive," Sheila muttered, and bolted down the hall to meet up with the general. As she wound one of the corners, the floor underneath her right foot broke up, and she stumbled to the floor in a heap. She attempted to stand up, but already started feeling the swelling in her right ankle. She violently shook her head in an attempt to push her excess hair out of her face, but to no avail. Groaning loudly, she propped herself on the wall and slowly hopped towards the lobby, attempting to put as little pressure as possible on her presumably sprained ankle.

"They're in the comms room!" a faint voice shouted, and pretty soon the husky heard footsteps getting louder and louder. She sighed, and sank down in overwhelming pain as she clutched her injured ankle. She saw a pair of gray tinged ears and grinned faintly as the unmistakable accent resounded through the hallway.

"Sheila! What happened?" Wes shouted, crouching next to the husky. Her canine teeth were sticking out of her maw as she glanced up.

"Ah, just screwed up my damn ankle trying to get to you guys," Sheila chuckled softly, smiling at the group. "Glad to see you're in one piece, general."

"Same to you, my dear," Pepper smiled, helping the husky to her feet. Dennis motioned her in and picked her up, being gentle with the smaller canine.

"You may be strong Spitzie, but you're as fragile as paper." Dennis chuckled, effortlessly carrying the husky down the hall.

"If you weren't carrying me I'd kick your ass right now," Sheila giggled, then glanced over to the general. "And before you ask, sir, I don't have the answers. That would be Stazac, and he's working on fixing the comms right as we speak."

"Ah, don't worry, I've been given a brief rundown. I just need to speak with Vince."

Dennis nodded and started walking a bit faster to compensate for the extra weight he was carrying. Sheila wasn't big, only being an even six feet tall, and a muscular 150 pounds, but Dennis was exhausted from the occurring events that he just needed to sit down for a while. The company of four walked into the only room that had power, and Vince perked up instantly at the large group.

"Finally," Vince grumbled as he jumped off the table. "You alright sir?"

"Peachy," Pepper said sarcastically with a slight grin. "You've got something to say, I presume?"

Vince glanced around the room and sighed loudly. "You may want to take a seat guys… I've got a story to tell you."

Dennis sat Sheila down in a chair and flopped down in the seat next to her. Pepper found another chair and sat down in it, while Wes stood up against the doorframe. Pepper saw the avians and smiled.

"I see the Lombardi's beat me here," he chuckled. "Good to see you and Falco are alright, Riley."

"Same to you general. I was starting to get worried for a second."

Pepper nodded and glanced over at the white vulpine. "Anyway, Vince, please continue on. I want to hear the full explanation."

"Of course," Vince responded before clearing his throat and taking a deep breath. "Roughly 21:36 Cornerian standard time, an unidentified object entered the atmosphere. Preliminary observations led me to believe it was a meteorite, but once it hit the ground and exploded, I instantly knew it wasn't just a simple rock."

The arctic fox continued as he slowly paced around the room. "A few minutes later when I ran in to Dennis, I noticed there was a faint trace of burning fuel. Walking outside and towards the impact zone made the stench worse. It leads me to believe that whatever hit the ground had a liquid fuel source of some sort, and the only culprit that matches the description of liquid fuel sources is System U-8."

Pepper leaned forward and gazed into Vince's bloodshot eyes as he continued. "I already explained to Riley that this is too coincidental to be an accident. They couldn't have hit our capital almost dead on by a stroke of pure luck."

"Wait, what're you saying Stazac?" Pepper asked, hinting at Vince's change in emotions.

"This was a planned attack general, and I'm requesting we take full retaliatory measures."

"War?" Pepper asked hesitantly.

"If that's what these humans want, then we sure as hell will give it to them," Vince stated sternly. "They destroyed _your_ city, murdered millions of _your_ people, and I say we get them back, sir."

"Vince, that seems–" Pepper started, but trailed off as he couldn't find a way to disagree. Vince was right; the humans attacked their capital. He was always taught in the CDF that you should always launch a counter-attack before the opposing forces get another attack off. It's military common sense. But, even in this case, it seemed a bit impulsive. They didn't know the whole story, or at least the other side.

"Pepper… they slaughtered millions… _Millions_… This isn't a minor tragic accident, this is fucking _genocide_! If I were in your shoes, sir, I would instantly retaliate. They didn't deserve it… They did not deserve to die as they did…"

Vince's eyes started to water. "These humans have taken it too far. They took hostility to us the first time we came into contact with them; they sure as hell are still hostile now, and now I believe they need to pay the price."

Pepper tried to argue his disapproval, but got cut off with his transmitter ringing. Vince smiled a prideful smile and sat back down on the table as the bloodhound raised his wrist to answer the call.

"General Pepper," he said firmly. He sighed in relief as an unmistakable voice spewed out. "James! Oh, thank god you're alright."

"Actually general, I'm not ok… I'm far from it right now," James responded in a broken and shaky voice.

"Why?" Pepper asked, confused with his tone of voice.

"It's… It's Vixy…" James faltered as he choked back a sob. "She…"

Pepper bowed his head and held his curled paw over his chest. "James… I'm–"

"Who?" James suddenly barked, changing from a sad whimper to a purely irate growl. "Who did this and _why_?"

"What do you–"

"Pepper!" James shouted. "Who did this?!"

Pepper sighed loudly and paused for a few seconds. "Vince is saying that System U-8 launched an attack. We don't know for sure though, so just–"

"Just what? JUST WHAT GENERAL?!" James snapped, completely beside himself in anger. "Sit on my ass while those alien sons of bitches kill everyone on this fucking planet?! NO! I almost lost everything tonight general! Those aliens almost took my _entire_ life away from me!" he snarled wildly, distorting the call quality.

Pepper was on the verge of an emotional breakdown. He had never heard James loose his shit like this before, and he knew he meant every enraged word he said. He hated to see his best friend devolve into what he was; an angry, confused, emotional mess. He waited until James heavy gasping was replaced with calmer breathing, and spoke to him seriously.

"Don't worry James… I've already made my decision…" Pepper assured, his voice never rising higher than a low growl. "Like you said, they claimed way too many lives tonight. I'm not taking that sitting down. They will have hell to pay for this. Meet me at my house tomorrow… We've got things to discuss."


	7. Get Mad

_"__I don't have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. It's a depression. Everybody's out of work or scared of losing their job. The dollar buys a nickel's worth, banks are going bust, shopkeepers keep a gun under the counter. Punks are running wild in the street and there's nobody anywhere who seems to know what to do, and there's no end to it. We know the air is unfit to breathe and our food is unfit to eat, and we sit watching our TV's while some local newscaster tells us that today we had fifteen homicides and sixty-three violent crimes, as if that's the way it's supposed to be. We know things are bad – worse than bad. They're crazy. It's like everything everywhere is going crazy, so we don't go out anymore. We sit in the house, and slowly the world we are living in is getting smaller, and all we say is, "Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my toaster and my TV and my steel-belted radials and I won't say anything. Just leave us alone." Well, I'm not gonna leave you alone. I want you to get mad!"  
–Network_

* * *

**General Pepper Residence**

12 Cornerian hours have passed since the severe tragedy plagued Corneria City. Thinks were starting to look upwards… Sort of…

As a literal bright side; it was daylight. The Cornerian Fire Department didn't have to fight the shadows to work. Most of the fires had been extinguished, but the still found flare-ups every now and again. Luckily, the remainder of the buildings, which wasn't a high number whatsoever, hadn't been too severely damaged, so the millions left without homes found refuge in those office complexes.

Speaking of the people, the remainder of the Cornerian Police Force were able to put an educated guess on the casualty number. A whopping 739,853,000 perished in the human attack. That's more than a third of the entire city's population.

And yes, they're calling it an attack.

The final statement released by the CDF stated that the humans launched a high powered rocket directly targeting Corneria City. It wasn't a nuke, thank the Krazoa, but it was still terrible none the less. It might as well have been a nuke, minus the radiation. The devastation that ensued from the blast was incomparable and unprecedented. It was uncalled for, and everyone knew it.

There were still discussions about the response to this, but most of them leaned over on the same answer.

Retaliation.

**#####**

General Pepper's medium sized home was the only logical place to hold a meeting of such importance. The windows were wide open, letting in the sunlight and the cool spring breeze. It was soothing, but only physically. There were many emotionally broken people gathered in Pepper's house.

Pepper himself stood in the middle of the room, taking the authoritative spot in the house. Sheila and Wolf sat on the loveseat in front of the large window, with Dennis leaning on the right side of the couch. Sheila's right ankle was wrapped in ice, with a large white towel wrapped around that. The other, much larger couch sat four. Fox, with his right leg enveloped in a pure white cast, sat on the end with the recently said leg propped up on the table. An emotional mess also known as James sat next to him, with the Lombardi's taking the remaining slots on the couch.

James, as mentioned before, was indeed an emotional mess. He hadn't slept, eaten, bathed, or even given a single fuck about anything since Vixy was confirmed deceased the night before. That was his wife, his companion, the love of his life; wrapped up in a black plastic bag waiting to be put in the ground tainted and soiled by the blood of millions of others that were also brutally and unnecessarily murdered by that same incident. They promised to give her full burial rights, at James' request. Well, more of a command.

Fox knew about his mother's fate too, but he didn't seem as affected as James. Granted, he was upset; as a matter of fact he was inconsolable for a while. However, Fox was able to "recover" a bit, but James was still not changing. He was still furious. There wasn't much the older vulpine could do but wait. Wait until he could get the opportunity to "talk" some sense into the bastards that killed her.

Vince was leaning behind the couch behind James, and a familiar older hare stood next to the scientist behind Riley. Peppy was lucky to escape the blast too. He was within inches of getting crushed by falling debris as a skyscraper collapsed virtually on top of his apartment. He was lucky to be alive, and he knew it.

Wes stood next to the entrance of the kitchen only feet away from the loveseat occupied by the canine and lupine. There were also two heavily equipped soldiers standing near the front door for protection, just in case. The general broke the long, painful silence and spoke up.

"You all know the situation... I don't need to re-state it for everyone. Everyone knows that the humans attacked us, now the reason you all are here is that we need to figure out a plan to avenge our city."

"It's what they deserve," James said coldly, not making any eye contact with the room. Pepper nodded slowly and continued.

"Yes, we all know that, but we can't go into their world guns blazing, we need a plan."

"Why not?" James snapped. "They did it to us! We should make them experience the hell they put us through!"

"James, we can't just–"

"YES, we can," James argued. "Bloody hell Pepper they murdered my wife!"

After a brief silence, the vulpine continued with his voice shaky and faltering after every word. "If you people knew her like I did, you'd be pissed too! She didn't deserve it… Nobody did…" he suddenly shot up from the couch and raised his voice a bit.

"I know it for a fact… each and every one of you in here lost someone in this attack. Friends, family, classmates, co-workers; gone. GONE! Everyone dies, but nobody should die like that. It's cruel. It's violent. It's heartless. It's a god damn massacre for god's sake!"

"James!" Sheila barked firmly, jerking the vulpine out of his rant. "We get it, alright? You've said it countless times already, and we get it. That's not what we're here for. I understand what you're going through, m'kay? I've lost my family too years ago… And you know what? I was a mess too, just as you are now. Vixy was a great person; I can say that from experience. I'm upset she passed as well, but I'm also upset because millions out there were killed too! She wasn't alone in death… but what you're implying is that they killed her on purpose!"

"Which they did!"

"They killed everyone on purpose McCloud!" Sheila snapped. "They targeted our city. They targeted the billions on this planet. They targeted our lives!"

"She's saying that it wasn't on purpose," Vince started softly. "But it wasn't an accident either. It was manslaughter, not premeditated murder. Well, scratch that, it was premeditated, but they didn't target specific people. They just blind-fired and hoped they found a heavily populated area, which they succeeded in doing."

James began to calm down a bit and sat back down. Pepper noticed a tear rolling down James' orange fur and spoke to him directly.

"James… I understand you're upset, but this side of you is not helping everyone. If we want to get back at the humans, we need your full cooperation, and we can't achieve that if you keep bringing the bad side of you out. If we can't figure out a strategic plan, you could be joining her…"

Fox's heart sank into his stomach as Pepper's words echoed in his mind. He bowed his head and awaited a response. What he wasn't expecting was Wolf's voice to resound over the silence.

Wolf sighed loudly, drawing all eyes towards him. "Stazac, are you really that dense?"

Vince cocked his head and looked disapprovingly at the lupine. "Excuse me?"

_"__Wasn't an accident," _he scoffed, chuckling faintly. "Funny shit."

Wolf was gathering more confusion and weird looks than actual approval, so he began to elaborate. "It may seem sadistically coincidental that a human object nearly destroyed the entire city, but I don't think it was intentional."

Wes scoffed disapprovingly. "You serious O'Donnell? Of all the people–"

"That could kick your ass I'm number one," Wolf interrupted, glaring at the wolfdog. "I'm not kidding. The humans have no reason to attack. Why would they? Why would they endanger themselves like this?"

"Cause they are uncivilized–"

"And so are you, bastard hybrid, now let me fucking finish, _please_," Wolf snapped. "It just doesn't make sense. They have no reason to. I have the funny feeling that this whole retaliation idea is not coming on a solid basis."

"What do you mean?" Pepper asked.

"This very well could have been an accident, and I can prove it."

"Better say it now, I'm losing interest," Wes chirped, crossing his arms.

Wolf sighed, but figured it would be better not to start a fight with the wolfdog. "If they went through all the trouble to send something way out here, why would they send a missile? Why not a satellite, much like ours? They could research us like we've done to them."

"But, Wolf, it exploded," Vince said, walking out from behind the couch. "Why would a satellite use gasoline in its operations? Wouldn't it be simpler to use liquid elements? Hydrogen?"

"Well, yeah, but what about powering the instruments? They probably didn't know if we had a strong enough star centering our system. They probably didn't know about Lylat."

"What's that have to do with–"

"Power… Stazac, the damn thing needs power. If they didn't know if they could get solar power, they needed an alternative. Gasoline is a cheap, effective alternative, but it's highly volatile. Then again, they didn't expect to have issues."

"Issues?" Pepper echoed.

Wolf shrugged. "Hell, I dunno. Why would the satellite just crash into our planet? Obviously it malfunctioned along the way."

The room suddenly fell into silence. However, to Wolf's disappointment, nobody was agreeing. They all stared at him with confused, doubtful, or even angry stares. James, with the nastiest look in the room, broke the silence.

"Wolf… You're my kit, and I love you with everything I have, but what the hell are you talking about?"

Wolf cocked his head. "What do–"

"How the hell would a malfunctioned satellite directly strike our capital? Directly! Right on top of Winston Square! If you're saying it's a coincidence, it's one hell of one!"

"I know, it seems way to coincidental, but–"

"If it's way too coincidental, then it's not. It's deliberate. A deliberate–"

"It wasn't deliberate! Just listen, please!" Wolf growled through clenched teeth, but James wasn't having it.

"They killed millions! Have you no self-respect? Have you no dignity? They killed your friends, dammit Wolf they killed your own mother! You're gonna sit there and defend them while they plot to do the same damn thing again!"

"They won't do it again," Wolf retorted, but James once again silenced him.

"Of course they won't," the vulpine said with a growl. "We'll make god damn sure of it. We will make sure that they will never mess with us ever again."

"James, attacking them is only going to make it worse!"

"For them," James quickly added on. "Worse for them. They started it, now we're finishing it."

"They didn't start anything!" Wolf shot, completely disregarding the looks people were giving him. "We don't need to instigate them!"

"THEY INSTIGATED US!" James shouted irately. "They wanted this! They wanted the conflict! They wanted combat! They picked the fights! …But I swear on Vixy's grave that it will be the last fight they ever pick!"

"This isn't what they wanted!"

"Ohoho, really?" James cocked his head with a sarcastic smile. "They didn't want this? They wanted to attack, but not suffer consequences–"

"For the last fucking time," Wolf growled loudly. "THEY DIDN'T ATTACK!"

James shot up from the couch and stormed over to the lupine. Wolf got up himself and came within inches of the vulpine's muzzle.

"James, chill," Riley pleaded, but the orange vulpine was oblivious.

"Dad, listen, please," Wolf said softly. "This is just a huge misunderstanding. They only wanted to–"

"If I hear you say it was an accident one more time, I will–"

"What? You'll what? Kill me? Haven't you dealt with enough death for one day?"

James was taken aback at what the lupine had just said. He opened his muzzle slightly with an enraged glare, and slid back his leg a few inches, unnoticed by the room's occupants.

"They didn't want to kill anyone." Wolf continued. "They were curious, and they wanted to research us. What better way than to send a satellite like what we were doing? However, they rushed it. What was it, Stazac? Three days after they took the diagnostics chip?"

"Yes."

"See? They tried to do too much, too fast. If you work fast, your work suffers. They didn't do enough research beforehand, which caused the satellite to malfunction. And thus, this happened. It was an accident, dad. A tragic accident. The millions that died yesterday was the result of an accident. Mom's death, unfortunately, was an accident. Corneria City's destruction was an accident. I know, it's tough to understand, but it's true. I'm sorry dad, but an attack is just too far-fetched… It doesn't add up. It wasn't intent–"

Disregarding any further consequences, James lashed out and slapped the lupine right on the side of his muzzle, making a loud echoing sound throughout the room. Wolf staggered backwards with eyes wide, disbelieving what the older vulpine had just done. The rest of the room was almost as stunned as he was. Every single one of the others' jaws unhinged as the reverberating slap echoed in the room.

James' muzzle contracted in an enraged scowl, growling at the lupine through clenched teeth. "You didn't lose anyone like I did, Wolf. What, some of your friends from the Academy were killed? I lost my wife! Try wrapping your head around that!"

Wolf did not say anything. All he could do was stare at James' irate green eyes with a dumfounded look literally slapped across his maw.

"I can't believe you Wolf… One moment, you made me proud by getting Fox help when he needed it most. But… now you're trying to defend those alien sons of bitches after they just murdered a third of the city claiming it was an accident? What happened? What happened to the Wolf I found practically beaten to death five years ago?"

James sighed as he continued. "You were always the one to put everything down just to help someone. Look at that one over there," James pointed to Fox, who had his ears lowered and the face of a person that just witnessed murder. "You sacrificed so much for him, even though you don't have blood relation to him. You might as well be related to him, because you two are like brothers. What I'm getting at is this… If someone were to hurt him, you'd be right there backing him up."

He glanced down as tears began forming in his bloodshot eyes. "I cared for you, Wolf. I loved you because nobody else did… I sacrificed so much for you…"

Wolf ignored his throbbing cheek and inched closer to the vulpine. He didn't know what else to do. Granted, he understood why James was acting this way, but his actions moments ago were still uncalled for. Right as Wolf tried to embrace the orange vulpine, he lifted his head back up and glared at the gray wolf, his voice rising with every acidic word he spewed.

"And this is how you repay me? Making up stupid shit trying to prevent us from getting the revenge we deserve? You just want to sit there and do nothing while the millions out there would have died in vain at the hands of some god-forsaken alien race? You heartless son of a–"

James again lashed out like a blur, slapping the lupine with more force than before. Wolf's sympathy quickly turned to blind rage as he had been pushed over the line. Wolf attempted to retaliate by launching a balled paw towards the vulpine's muzzle, but James instantly ducked under it and shot out with a knee to the lupine's stomach.

"James, that's enough!" Pepper barked, but his plea fell on deaf ears.

After Wolf had doubled over, James blasted the lupine with a powerful uppercut right under his jaw, causing Wolf to fall backwards and land on the hardwood floor.

"Here's a lesson for ya," James said sternly, watching as Wolf caressed his potentially broken maw. "_That_, was intentional. I thought about it, and I executed, and now someone is suffering. The humans are no exception. They thought about an attack, and they executed, and millions are suffering. Therefore, that makes the human attack, _intentional_."

Sheila shot up and pushed the vulpine out of Wolf's area, growling at him as she did so. She dropped down and rubbed the back of the lupine's head.

"Aww, did I hurt your boyfriend, Spitzie?" James taunted thoughtlessly, only enraging the copper husky more.

"James, knock it off!" Peppy commanded, but once again James was oblivious.

"You lay another paw on him and I'll put you in a body bag just like your wife," she growled, causing the entire room's occupant's jaws to once again fall to the floor.

James' eyes shot open in disbelief at what the husky just said. He always respected the husky as a young, talented military officer, but after that, he didn't know what to think of her. She had just taken a shot at him, almost as if she didn't know who he was.

Pepper glanced over at Wolf, who was repeatedly checking his maw for signs of blood. "Wolf, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Both Wolf and Sheila's jaws unhinged at the same time. "What for?" Wolf asked impatiently, pawing his nose.

"I hate to pick sides, but I'm on James' side of the argument. Even if it was an 'accident', as you say, this attack is unforgivable." James began snickering faintly on the couch as Pepper's words took full hold.

"Are you fucking serious?" Wolf snarled, attempting to stand up but instantly fell back down to one knee.

"This is why. I can't discuss plans with people willing to listen if you are going to keep interrupting with your crazy story. I'm sorry."

Wolf tried to shoot up again but Sheila grabbed his arm.

"Wolf, please, just listen to him. Don't get yourself into more trouble than you already–"

"Oh, _I'm_ in trouble," Wolf growled, jerking his arm free and turning to the rest of the room. "You people will be in a whole hell of a lot more trouble if you refuse to listen to what I have to say."

Wolf glared at the rest of the room as he stormed out. One of the canine soldiers was snickering as he reached for the door handle, but instantly regretted his decision to be boisterous about it. In a matter of seconds, Wolf had chopped his rifle out of his paws, delivered a wild roundhouse kick to the side of the canines head, and thrown him through the front door of the house before the canine could even let out a yelp. The other soldier quickly backed up against the wall to avoid the lupine's wrath. Wolf slammed the door shut, and a few seconds later his loud motorcycle took off and down the street towards the highway. Once the bike's roar became inaudible, Pepper awkwardly broke the silence by clearing his throat.

"Now, uh… James, if I may, I would like to talk about our plan."

"If you're talking a strategic plan, general, I've got just the thing," Wes' voice broke in and stepped into the sunlight. "The humans used a 'shock-and-awe' tactic. That's good for a massacre, yes, but it's less than secretive and gives your position away immediately. If we want to deal more damage to these aliens, we need to be more widespread."

"How do you suppose we do that?" Riley chirped with a cocked head.

Vince broke in to the impending argument. "I know where Wes is going with this. We can't just hide out in the atmosphere of the planet because we'll get shot down just like our satellites. We need to attack; swiftly, painfully, and repeatedly."

"How so?" Pepper asked.

"Ah, that's simple," Wes smirked. "We just use the human's tactics. They made it work for them, and we sure as hell can make it work against them."

"Wait," Sheila interrupted. "What if the humans fight back? How will we defend against that?"

"I'm not sure what you mean by that," Wes admitted.

"Their weaponry isn't ours. It's kinetic. That shit does major damage; I mean, just look outside. We have no way of protecting against it."

"Shouldn't our gear protect against that?"

"You would think, but that might not be the case," she pointed at the gun holstered to the canine's leg. "Your equipment may save you from our own ammunition, but it might not save you from a piece of metal launched at thousands of feet per second."

Wes scoffed with a prideful grin. "Sweetie, if we can protect ourselves from high energy laser fire, we sure as hell can protect ourselves from these primitive 'bullets' as they're called."

Riley noticed the death stare the husky was giving Wes, and put his arm in her path to prevent her from potentially clawing the hybrid's eyes out.

Vince awkwardly piped up. "Actually, the humans have some kind of synthetic fiber known as 'Kevlar'. It is extremely lightweight, but it is stronger than most everything on that planet. They turn that fiber into body armor that is highly effective in combat. That fiber does a very good job in protecting the humans from opposing bullet fire, but, as everything in the universe, it's not perfect."

"Would we be able to use it?" Pepper asked.

"It's a synthetic compound, so yes. We could infuse that with our own gear, and essentially make an indestructible shield."

"I would like that," Wes chuckled evilly.

"Also, unless I forgot to carry a two or something," Vince chuckled at his own joke. "The projectiles we fire have enough energy to melt right through it. If they did decide to try and defend themselves, they wouldn't stand a chance."

Riley raised a wing much like a student waiting to be called on to answer a question. "What about the sky, general? You know I'm terrible at terrestrial war."

"Hmm, that's a good question," Pepper grunted, then faced the white vulpine. "Any answers, Vince?"

Vince pulled a tablet out of his pocket and swiped through some notes. "That could be a possibility. Our Arwings are exponentially faster and more maneuverable than their 'steel birds'. We wouldn't have any trouble taking their aircrafts down."

"Don't they at least have a chance?"

"If they do, even _I_ can't calculate it," Vince chuckled, combing back his hair. "Those aircrafts they have launch explosive missiles. _Slow_ explosive missiles. Nothing Star Fox or Husky Squadron can't handle," he made faint glances to James, Riley, Peppy, and Sheila.

"If they choose not to attack us in the air, our Arwings would be a great option for laying waste to an area," Vince continued. "Their structures are made of the same stuff ours are, just not reinforced as well as us. If they can obliterate our capital as they did, we can do the same ten times over with our weaponry."

After a brief silence, Pepper spoke up. "So if we've covered everything, Vince, how long will it take us to get there?"

"With no issues at all, I'd say the better part of one day, sir."

"Great…" Pepper looked around the room. "You heard the scientist; one day. Get everything you need and meet up at the HQ's landing pad. We'll begin our assault there."

* * *

**Cornerian Defense Force HQ – Aircraft Detachment**

"Major Sheila Spitz, report to hangar 16 immediately," a metallic voice echoed through the remnants of the CDF HQ. Sheila's ears perked up and instantly spun around to walk to her destination.

"Had to be the very last one," Sheila grumbled as she trotted down the long, wide open hangar rooms. She still walked with a limp, as her right ankle was still wrapped in cloth. Doctors affirmed that she had only had twisted it, and would be perfectly fine in a day or two, albeit it hurt like hell, and she could barely put a quarter of her weight on it.

Each hangar had a specific craft inside, and the husky recognized every single one. Five of the six large hangars were open, showcasing the giant warships that were prepping for the invasion. There was a giant warship docked that Sheila instantly recognized as Pepper's trademark flagship. Pepper planed on housing fifty or so soldiers in that flagship as well as himself, which would completely fill the modified Cornerian Destroyer.

The hangar right across from that one housed a brand new, sleek, silver and blue Cornerian Destroyer with a white canine head painted on the bridge extension. Sheila smiled at her recently completed flagship. _Not the biggest thing in the world, but it's big enough for the job_, she thought proudly. It had enough room for eight Arwings and roughly fifteen occupants. That was perfect for the cinnamon husky and her seven other squadron members. A few of the husky pilots noticed their superior officer and waved paws at her. Sheila smiled, showing off her white canine teeth and waved back.

Another glance a few hangars down showed a massive Cornerian Resupplier. Those were the largest aircrafts in commission. They were twice the size of an ordinary Destroyer, and could fit well over two hundred soldiers each. There was another one right across from it, and both of them were in the final stages of preparation. Both of them were being sent to System U-8.

At the very end of the long hallway revealed the last warship commissioned for the fight. It was the most unique ship in Cornerian military, because it technically wasn't Cornerian military property. It was a giant silver warship, with four large wings jutting out of the main hull, and two massive plasma cannons sticking out under the main bridge. The pale, faded green letters and red emblem identified the iconic dreadnaught warship that was the Great Fox.

The last hangar, number 16, was a small hangar decommissioned temporarily from combat. Instead, it housed General Pepper's temporary office, which saved time from walking around what was left of the CDF offices. Sheila walked in as Pepper was leaning against the back wall, and Vince and Wes were talking by a grid of wires.

"Stazac, you got the Great Fox's lines working?" Wes asked impatiently, tapping his foot on the floor.

"Nah, the damn thing isn't connecting. Oh well, we'll brief them once we get there."

Wes grunted and leaned up against the wall. Vince continued to fidget with the wires as Pepper noticed the husky walk in. She was the first to break the ice.

"Hey general. Everything ok?"

"Yes," Pepper cleared his throat. "I called you so we could give you our plans that Jaeger and I drew up."

"Ah, awesome, what's the plan?"

Pepper displayed a map of Earth on the giant hologram machine in the center of the room. He zoomed in on the western hemisphere, and pointed at a few places.

"Alright, as Vince pointed out a while ago, we can easily overrun them in the air. That's where you and Husky Squadron come in." He poked at the hologram, causing it to display red dots where he pointed at. He laid four points on the eastern most coastline of a large patch of land, all very close to each other.

"We're going to attack in waves. Husky Squadron will attack these points here. These are highly populated, highly dangerous cities in the most developed country on this planet. We're starting here, and will work our way inward. Luckily, these cities all follow a linear south-west path, so you can pretty much leave a trail of destruction without deviation."

Pepper zoomed in even further on the cities. The satellite imagery kicked in, revealing large skyscrapers and other buildings completely covering the area around the red dots. He pointed at the northern most point that was right up against a large body of water, and as he spoke, his finger ran down in a semi-straight line.

"I would suggest starting here, a city called Boston. Cripple that city as much as you can without wasting time, then continue southwest. There's another city called New York. That's their most heavily populated city. Once you fly over them, just keep on continuing down that path. The last spot we want you to go to is the nation's capital city. That's where Transport 2 will land, and we'll essentially siege the area."

"Wow, all these cities are aligned so perfectly. I almost feel bad for exploiting this fact." Sheila smirked.

Pepper himself chuckled a bit. "Yes, they aren't the brightest species, considering most of their heavily populated cities are literally right in a row and right up against the coastline. Oh well, makes our job easier."

Sheila giggled, and shifted her glance to the map again. "What about Star Fox? Where are they going?"

"Ah, I'm glad you asked. Star Fox will branch inward, destroying some inland cities. There are a few highly dangerous military bases in the middle of the continent, so we're looking to take those out."

Pepper plopped down some points on the giant holographic map, labelling some sites around some giant bodies of inland water. "These are more areas we can eliminate. James will take his forces in the air, while the Great Fox will land in this city here. That ship will house a few more ground soldiers, Wes included. They will overrun that city and work westward, taking out some large military bases in the center of the continent."

"This just seems way too easy," Sheila admitted. "What if we get interference? I'm sure the country won't even let us get close before firing."

"That's where Vince comes in."

"Pardon?" Vince cranked his head around to face the general. "What am I doing?"

"I want you to mess with their satellite imagery. They have a fairly decent satellite defense system, and I want you to hack into it."

"How so?" Vince asked with a cocked head.

"I honestly don't know. I'd like you to try and disable it, but if that doesn't work then try to mess with it as much as you can."

Vince scoffed faintly and adjusted his coat. "Not a prob, general."

"Fantastic," Pepper turned back to the husky. "Well, you go ahead and get some rest. We'll be within range in 20 hours after we take off. I'll brief you again once we get there."

"Sounds good general. Thank you."

Right as the copper husky turned around, Pepper again spoke to her. "Hey, how's Wolf doing? That was a pretty nasty lick he took a while ago, is he ok?"

"Uh, he's alright," she blushed, glancing around the room. "Just a massive bruise. Nothing broken."

"That's good. Listen, tell him that I apologize for what happened earlier. I'll talk with James soon and–"

Sheila instantly donned a scowl as Pepper mentioned the vulpine's name. "Just tell him when we start the first attack, he better stay out of my way," she stated coldly, then swiftly turned around and limped out of the hangar door.

Pepper raised an eyebrow as her cinnamon colored tail disappeared around the corner. He turned to the hybrid, who was smirking up against the wall.

"Man, if I were James, I'd watch my back," he chuckled.

"I hate to say it, but I agree," Pepper admitted, rubbing the side of his head. "If we want this to work, we can't deal with any distractions. I don't want to, but I will bench people if I have to."

"Woah, you're sitting James?"

"Hell no," the bloodhound responded quickly. "He's my strongest fighter. Sheila and Wolf? You bet. I don't have a problem sitting those two out if it means the mission will be successful."

Wes nodded and glanced out the window. "You're right. This has to be successful, no matter what."

The bloodhound nodded and began to walk out of the office, but the hybrid stopped him in the doorway.

"Thanks for putting me with Star Fox's group. I'm itching for some ground combat."

"Don't get to excited," Pepper chuckled. "Don't let yourself get carried away with it. We don't want to do too much if it means we'll be put in danger. We're already taking a huge risk now, so the less issues the better."

"Understood general. And… thank you."

* * *

**Great Fox – five hours after takeoff**

James was slowly walking down the desolate hallway of the massive Great Fox. He was just getting to his quarters so he could get some shut-eye before Pepper authorized the attack. He was tired. He hadn't slept since two nights before, and he was pretty sure that the lack of sleep was starting to get to him, but he disregarded that thought. He wouldn't sleep until Vixy was avenged.

Just thinking her name caused James to whimper softly.

He missed her already. It was only 8 hours ago that they laid her casket six feet underground, but he still missed her. He just wished he had gotten out there sooner. It was his fault. He could have told them to get down from the tree as soon as he would've seen the "meteorite" streaking into the city skyline. He could have saved her.

And he's kicking himself for it.

James faltered a bit and leaned up against the pure white hallway. His emotions again started to get the best of him, however, they were much stronger than before. The dark thoughts began to take a stranglehold on his mind. He began wondering what was keeping him alive. He could end the suffering right now. He had his handgun in his pocket, what was stopping him from ending his miserable existence?

He un-holstered his handgun and sighed loudly as he felt the trigger in his paws. One little muscle movement could put an end to the hell, the suffering, the chaos, the drama, basically everything that was complicating his life.

He raised the handgun upwards.

The hell was only going to get worse. There was only going to be more complications in life. Why suffer through it when you can end it right now? Eliminate the suffering and find shelter in a better place. A happy, calm, easier, and less painful place. A place where he could spend every day with the one he had loved. The one he still loved. The one that was abruptly taken away from him.

The barrel came in contact with his temple.

It would be worth it in the end. Leave the hell behind and seek refuge somewhere else. Away from death. Away from heartache. Away from the immanent war. The war didn't help his situation either. They killed Vixy, and hell, even he himself could fall at the hands of the humans. And oh boy, what salt on the wound that would be.

His claw tightened around the trigger.

Nothing could stop him. Nobody was within range of stopping him. Nobody could hear the gun firing, the blood splattering against the wall, and the lifeless body hitting the floor. He was perfectly alone, physically, and mentally. An ideal place to end it all.

It was what he wanted. He wanted to end his existence right then and there. He didn't have anything to live for. It didn't matter how many humans he killed; Vixy was still gone. He couldn't bring her back. The only thing he still had was his life. In a few seconds however, he would leave that behind as well.

As he came within millimeters of completely committing to his decision, he heard the faint sound of strings ring out from down the hall.

Fox.

He did have something to live for. Vixy's kit. His kit. _Their_ kit. They raised him together, through thick and thin, through every struggle and every high. Everything. They were determined to raising their kit with their whole lives. He gave his word that he would do everything in his power to raise his own son. Even if Vixy was gone, he still had the responsibility.

_He did have something to live for._

The handgun hit the floor with a loud clang, as well as his knees following soon after. He had come within inches, no, millimeters of leaving Fox all alone in the world. Vixy wasn't there to raise him anymore. It all fell on his shoulders. He was responsible for caring for the kit. His kit.

He was close to kicking his own tail again. What was he thinking? Blowing his brains all over the wall would not solve anything. It would only cause more problems. Pepper would go berserk knowing that the humans caused James to take his own life. They almost drove him to the brink of insanity. He would make them experience utter hell. Merciless, devastating, vengeful hell.

And Fox? Fox wouldn't have a family anymore. He would be more alone than James was. Granted, he had Wolf, but what was he? A stray and an outcast brought in by his mercy? He had no McCloud bloodline, and he never would. He would always be known as the outcast, the lone-wolf. The only thing he had to his name was the fact that he lived with the McClouds.

Wolf loved his "family" like it was his own. For five years he stayed under their wing, and acted as though he had been with the family since day one. He was everything a parent could hope for, and for Wolf, a family that he always wanted. After being beaten, neglected, and abandoned by his original family, he longed for someone to have just an ounce of compassion towards him. He was always brushed aside or ignored on the streets. It took him the better part of three months just trying to survive on urban streets, until he found James. James instantly gave him a room in their home; a place where he could always be welcomed. For five years he lived there. Those five years were plenty of time for Wolf to get his feet back under him again. He worked hard, graduated from the Academy, and as of recently got himself the best job he could ever ask for, and the best companion he could ever ask for.

But what happened at Pepper's house changed everything. James could have disowned him right then and there. What he did to the lupine though, he might as well have just said it. He slapped him; hell, he kicked his ass when he retaliated. It was like those two had never met. But, he couldn't just dump him away and be done with it. He was close to Fox. Fox was close to him. They were "brothers". Although what he did to Wolf was heartless to say the least, at least he still had a heart. That heart could not separate two brothers. He would never hear the end of it from Fox if he removed Wolf from his life. As stated before, he was close, as two brothers should be. Fox couldn't have his own bloodline brother anymore–

James shook his head violently as the dark thoughts attempted to swarm him again. He made a long glance at the handgun that was lying on the floor feet away from where he was kneeling.

He couldn't be tempted to end the suffering. He couldn't take the coward's way out. He wasn't a coward. He would endure the suffering, endure the utter hell he would experience as long as it meant that his life was worth something to someone. He would never fall victim to a coward's mentality. He had the mentality of a warrior, a leader, a friend, a father, and a hero.

He was James McCloud, and he would endure the hell. The hell of war. And he would triumph.

He stood back up, wiped the countless tears from his fur, and slowly crept up to the door where Fox was. His guitar was playing a faint acoustic tune as he heard the vulpine singing along. He popped his head through the door, and watched as Fox's paws flawlessly strummed the strings, but once Fox noticed his father walk in, he instantly stopped and talked to him.

"Dad? You… you alright?"

James' ears were folded over, and his muzzle was drooped low. He let out a sigh as he walked over and sat on the kit's bed.

"As long as you're here Fox…" he faltered, choking back a sob as tears began forming in his eyes.

"I couldn't be any better."

* * *

**A/N: Hoo boy, that one was a doozy, lemme tell ya. Don't worry, I promise the next chapters won't be as long as this one... maybe...**

**Anyway, that aside, I hope you guys enjoyed the super long ass chapter, and I'll see you guys next time!**


	8. Phantom Dots

**A/N: Hey guys, just wanted to let you know that I put a link to a playlist with songs relevant to this story on my profile. It'll get updated as the story goes along.**

**I've also noticed that I've been getting a bunch of guest reviews as of late. That is awesome! I also do encourage anybody and everybody, whether you're a guest, an anonymous viewer, or a well known figure, that you are welcome to leave your opinions. At the time of writing this currently, I have 22 reviews so far, and in all honesty, that's 22 more than I'd thought I'd get. You guys have blown my expectations out of the water and out into the stratosphere. For that, from the bottom of my heart, I say thank you. Stay awesome you guys! ;)**

**You guys have a good one, and enjoy this next update!**

* * *

"Sheila! Get back in formation!" a loud authoritative voice commanded as her Arwing dipped low to the ground.

"There's a guy locked on to you, I'm taking him out," she responded, barraging the ground with laser fire.

"No! Get your ass back up here!" he shouted again, this time diving his Arwing down, trying to persuade the copper husky to leave. She refused, and continued firing on the ground below; wasting any opposition she had.

"You're gonna get yourself killed!" he pleaded.

"Worry about your own hide," she spat, rolling to the left to dodge an oncoming rocket.

"I don't want to lose you!" he cried out, closely pursuing the husky.

"Wolf, I'll be fine, just let me– oh shit!"

"Sheila!"

**Husky Destroyer**

The copper husky jerked wide awake in a cold sweat, panting heavily. Her heavy red and black flannel blanket was wrapped tightly around her, and the heat from the blanket was only making her condition worse. She tore off the blanket, tossing it on the other side of her bed, and shot up to regain her breath. She flung her legs over the bedside and dipped her head low, still continuing to breathe heavily.

Her bedroom on the small Destroyer was as standard as standard could get. Only a bed, a small desk, a closet, and a very basic restroom filled the room. A dim light shot into her room from the windows; glistening off of her recently dampened snowy white and light copper fur. She removed her light sleeveless shirt and attempted to dry off her sweat permeated arms and face, then tossed the shirt on the other side of the room by the closet.

"You alright in there?" a faint voice called out, tapping lightly on her metal door. The husky couldn't say a word; not even a grunt of recognition. She continued to lay on her bedside, trying to remove the nightmare from her mind.

"Sheila?" the voice said with more inflection, with the bangs on the door becoming louder as well. Sheila bolted back up in a sitting position, but then sighed in relief as she instantly recognized the voice. She fell back on the bed, swiftly wrapped the flannel blanket tightly around her exposed frame, and closed her eyes.

"It's open," she said sleepily, then watched as a tall gray wolf gingerly stuck his head in the doorway, and chuckled at the husky.

"Hey babe," Wolf smiled as he walked all the way in the room, and shut the door with his foot. He chuckled at the husky, which caused her to instantly look into the mirror next to her bed. She gasped as she realized her fur was severely matted, and her long light brown hair was scattered erratically. She noticed that he was staring at her storm of hair, blushed noticeably, and wrapped a small blanket around her head haphazardly.

"You just had to walk in right now?" she groaned, muffled by the thick blanket wrapped around her muzzle.

"You don't need to be so self-conscious about yourself around me," Wolf said, sitting on her bedside.

"Yes I do," her muffled voice snuck out of the blanket. Wolf chuckled and attempted to pull the blanket off of her, but only moved enough of it to reveal one of her pale blue eyes.

"Hi," Wolf half-shouted, grinning from ear to ear.

"Wolf, please," Sheila whined, shaking her head around faintly. Wolf refused to take no for an answer and pulled on the blanket with more strength. He only succeeded in sliding the husky a few centimeters towards the edge of the bed.

"You coming out or what?" Wolf laughed, repeatedly poking his paw into her shoulder.

"Not until you leave."

"Fine, I'll just take the other blanket off," he announced, and put a paw on the thick flannel blanket. Just as the lupine planned, she swiftly transitioned her grip between the two blankets, which gave Wolf the perfect opportunity to yank the smaller blanket off of her head. In doing so, it caused the husky's hair to become even more of a mess as it drooped in front of her eyes.

"Gotcha!" Wolf said in triumph, and got a faint grin from the husky on the bed.

"Argh," she groaned, playfully backpawing the lupine's shoulder. Wolf again took the opportunity he was presented with by grabbing the husky's arm, and nuzzled closer to the canine. All she did was bury her head in the flannel blanket to avoid his ongoing playful assault.

"Sheila…" Wolf cooed slowly in a smooth voice. "You can't hide forever…"

The husky groaned loudly and revealed her matted face. "What?" she commanded with a smile, shaking the hair out of her face.

"I love you," Wolf chuckled, sneaking a kiss on the side of her maw. "See? Was that so bad?"

"I guess not," she smirked, then brought the lupine in for a longer kiss. "I love you too Woof," she giggled sleepily, then rested her muzzle on his shoulder. Wolf chuckled at the childish name that Sheila had just given him, then stretched out next to her on the small bed in her quarters.

"Why the big blanket, She?" Wolf asked, tugging at the red and black flannel blanket wrapped around her. Sheila glanced down at the blanket and turned almost as red as the blanket itself.

"Oh, I– um… I, uh," she stuttered, tightening the blanket around her torso. She made a faint glance to her closet, which Wolf tracked and he himself looked in that direction. He donned a cheesy smile as he noticed the bunched up shirt in the corner and lowered his voice.

"What'cha wearin'?" Wolf asked tauntingly, which caused Sheila's rosy cheeks to burn even brighter.

"Wolf, can I please get dressed?" she whined, glancing longingly at the lupine. "I've only got my– err…"

Wolf busted up laughing. "Oh, come on! It's not that big of a deal. Hey, we've been together for almost a week, maybe you should stop hiding from me so much," he winked, getting a grin from the husky wrapped in the blanket. Wolf noticed that she had been acting a bit jumpy and reclusive around him lately, so he inched closer to the husky and put his maw near her face.

"You're hiding something right now, aren't you?" he said slyly, trying to hide his grin.

"Wolf, please let me get my clothes on," she said, unable to keep a straight face. Wolf chuckled to himself and expertly exploited the husky's obvious ruse.

"You don't want to put them back on."

"Wolf!" Sheila whined like a five-year-old girl.

"And you don't want me to leave either."

Sheila realized her ruse had been shattered like glass, so she retreated into her warm flannel fortress. "Wolf, stop," she complained, but Wolf wasn't stupid enough to fall for it. He jumped back on the attack and stuck his muzzle deep into her protective filed.

"All you gotta do is ask, babe," Wolf cooed, flicking his tail wildly. "We both know what you're hiding."

"Wolf, I don't–"

"Don't you even try lying," he chuckled, wrapping his arms around the blanketed figure. "Lying isn't a good relationship booster."

Sheila stuck the tip of her muzzle out of the blanket. "I don't want to right now," she said pitifully, then retreated back into the blanket.

"Oh, not right now?" he echoed excitedly. Sheila fell for his trap, and instantly regretted it.

"Dammit Wolf you know what I mean," she snapped, but the damage had already been done.

"What _you mean_ is that you want me," Wolf said, almost proudly and matter-of-factly. "And it's noticeable, Sheila. You wouldn't be trying to hide from me if it wasn't true." After a few seconds of Wolf pestering her by smacking her back with his tail, her rosy face popped out of her makeshift defense. She hesitated, but eventually rubbed her muzzle on his shoulder.

"Fine… You caught me…" she said disappointingly, then donned a sly smile as her pale blue eyes shot right into Wolf. "You're not planning anything later, are you?" she asked intently, twirling her tangled hair.

Wolf blushed noticeably and felt his emotions start to flare up. "Um, I don't– oh," he recoiled as she wrapped her arms around the lupine's neck. His arousal increased as he noticed what the husky was trying to hide; a very skimpy and almost translucent clothing article covering what Wolf had been attracted to all these years.

"I think we have a little bit of time," she said seductively, removing the blanket from her frame. Wolf instantly turned red faster than a traffic light.

"You're a naughty husky," Wolf responded in his own smooth voice as he felt her paws slowly work to his waist. Sheila started to pull off the lupine's shirt, but he stopped her halfway.

"Are you sure Sheila? I was just teasing you, you don't have to– oh maybe you do," he smiled as the rest of his shirt came flying off.

"Yes, _I_ want to," she responded and pulled the lupine onto the bed. She instantly attacked Wolf's face and locked him into a kiss so long that is was on the verge of suffocating both of them. After the husky caught her breath, she gazed into Wolf's violet eyes with a sly smirk.

"Do you?"

* * *

**General Pepper's Flagship**

"How's the translator coming, Vinny?" Dennis asked, pointing at his numerous computer screens and the small gray device that was virtually taken apart piece by piece, showing all of the wires and chips. Vince grunted and made a glance to the raven.

"Good… good," he said faintly, then focused back on the screens.

"How far along are ya?"

"Umm…" Vince combed back his hair as he turned around to face the bird. "I've got most of the vocabulary down, but I'm still working on slang and different terminology. It's very tedious and time consuming work."

"I can tell," Dennis chuckled, then pulled up a chair and sat next to the fox. "Can I test it?"

Vince nodded and reassembled the transmitter quickly, then punched in a few buttons. "I actually haven't tried it yet," the vulpine admitted, continuously typing into the wrist transmitter.

"Better now than never."

He smiled as a faint beep resounded from the device. "Say something," he commanded, putting the wrist device up to Dennis' beak.

"You gotta be– Woah, what the hell?"

Vince laughed as the raven was rendered incomprehensible by the device. The translator addition took in surrounding words and processed them in a very small, but highly efficient chip in the processor. Before the sound waves from the person talking could make it to the ears of another person, the device would replace those sound waves with different pitches and frequencies, completely changing the dialect. It would still keep the same tone of voice, but all it would do is make communication easier.

"Hmm, that's what this 'English' sounds like," Vince chuckled, disabling the device.

"Ugh, that was nasty," Dennis groaned, ruffling his feathers. "Sounded like I was choking on my own tongue."

Vince again had another laughing fit at his comment, and continued work on the translator. "Like I said, I'm not finished yet. This is just a rough example. I'll have the full version hopefully in the next two hours or so."

"That's good. Pepper said we're about five hours out, so you got time."

"Awesome. Take care Denny," Vince smiled, swiping at the raven as he slowly walked away. Dennis waved as he wound the corner and made his way from the second story of the large flagship towards the elevator. A quick moment later Dennis was on the fourth story, and mere feet away from the main bridge. Right as the raven walked into the large room, a pale blue holographic vulpine popped on Pepper's screen, with the general himself standing near the screen.

"Hey Pepper. You got something?" James said statically, cocking his holographic head.

"I just have a quick question for you, James."

James nodded and waited for Pepper to continue. "So, I understand you and the rest of Star Fox will go in to the tenth sector a little after Husky Squadron's initial attack, but I'm calling to affirm your team's condition. I'm assuming you're not letting Wolf fly, correct?"

"Of course not," James responded. "He doesn't want to be a part of this, and I don't _want_ him to be either. I actually offered Wes the open spot, if that is alright with you."

Pepper nodded slowly with a faint grin. "I don't blame you in the slightest. Wes is an incredible soldier, and Wolf has been a bit of a problem lately."

"You're telling me." James growled softly. "Don't get me wrong, sir, I love him to death, but I don't feel comfortable fighting next to him; especially in a situation like this. With his viewpoint on this upcoming war, I have a feeling he might turn on us."

"Is he on the Great Fox now?"

"Nah, he's aboard the Husky's Destroyer. I'm assuming he's working as a bridge attendant, but I have no idea. Probably just wanted to be with _her_," he said the last word with a very sour inflection.

Pepper grunted softy, then glanced back up at the vulpine. "Do you remember Jason and Alice? The Spitzs?"

"I think so. Why? What happened with them?"

"The same thing you are speculating about Wolf," Pepper stated, sitting down in the nearest chair. "We had an insurgent years ago… He fought on our side for years to gain our trust, and suddenly one day he went ballistic, killed about fifty or sixty people. Sheila's parents were two of those killed."

James suddenly had a change of heart. He instantly felt sorry for the husky, and understood why she had acted the way she did yesterday. She _had_ understood what it was like to have family abruptly taken away at the hands of the enemy. He sighed and held a paw over his chest.

"What I'm getting at is that you could always have that one person that turns," the bloodhound continued. "I wouldn't directly label Wolf as an insurgent, but I would keep an eye on him if you do allow him to fight."

"Don't worry general," James assured. "I'm not letting him anywhere around me with a weapon. I don't trust him enough. Like I said, I'm replacing him with Wes for now, and once we waste this god-forsaken planet, I'll let him back in…"

"Good plan James… We're about five hours out, so– Oh hey Dennis, how long have you been standing there?"

"Just a while," the raven chuckled, coming into viewpoint of the holographic vulpine. "I came up to tell you guys that Vince is almost done with the translator."

"How's it sound?" James asked with a faint smile.

Dennis laughed and stuck part of his tongue out of his beak and started imitating the words he inadvertently said due to the translator, causing the two mammals to burst into laughter. Dennis waited for the two to completely focus back and spoke up.

"So general, you've got plans drawn up for all the others, what'cha got for me?"

"You're going in with Transport 2. They are landing on the surface on the main nation's capital, and we're expecting some tough interference, so I'd like you to command the entire group."

Dennis smiled and nodded faintly. "Love the plan general. Let me know when it's time," he said as he slowly backed toward the door.

"Alright Dennis, you get some rest," Pepper announced as the door shut behind his tail feathers. He transition his glance back to the holographic vulpine.

"Anyway, you know your plan, right James?"

"Of course… Tenth sector first, then move inward from there. Destroy anything and everything." Pepper nodded in approval with a slight smile creased on his muzzle.

"One thing I forgot to ask a while ago," James quickly added. "Why didn't we authorize more than just our small fleet? Couldn't have we just used more ships and just wasted the planet without having to go on ground?"

"Oh, don't get me wrong, James, that was my first idea, but that would be too easy."

"Isn't that what we want?" James asked with a tilted head.

"I'm not saying that we shouldn't, but we actually _can't_," Pepper explained, slowly pacing around the vulpine's vision on the screen.

"Did we not have enough pilots or ships?"

"Plenty of those, but not enough of the rest," Pepper responded. "I'm talking about resources… We can't just swoop in and carpet-bomb everything because it's a waste of our weaponry. A large portion of the army's resources were destroyed as a result of that damn missile, and we have a very limited amount for our missions."

"Oh, I understand now," James grinned. "We're only hitting specific areas, because we don't want to waste weaponry on areas that don't matter."

"Exactly."

James hummed curiously, then asked another question to the bloodhound. "Also, why are we isolating our attacks on this country? Shouldn't we spread out and attack the entire planet?"

"Well, shouldn't we start with the culprit first?"

"Culprit?" James echoed disbelievingly.

"Vince never told you?"

"Told me what?"

Pepper chuckled to himself and leaned on the hologram machine. "Vince was able to track signatures from that missile to that country. We don't know where it was exactly launched from, but we know for certain it was from there."

"Ahh, so that's why we're going after them first."

"Indeed. That's why we're focusing our preliminary assault there. After that country is nothing more than a parking lot, we move on to the rest of the planet. Simple."

James nodded, then a faint voice started yelling in the background behind him. James chuckled and faced the direction of the voice.

"I'll be there in a second Fox," he shouted, then faced the bloodhound again. "Alright, I gotta go. I'll let you know how the assault on my end goes."

"Okay, good luck out there James."

"Thanks general," he said, then turned to face the voice again. "No, Fox, not that! The other one!" James walked out of the view of the hologram machine, but his voice could still be heard in the background. "Fox I told you the–"

Pepper laughed as James was cut off mid-sentence as the holograph machine disconnected. He sighed, sat back in his chair, and then looked at his watch.

_Alright humans… You've got a few hours to have your fun, then all hell will break loose. Clock's ticking…_

* * *

**Pepper's Flagship – Communications Room – 5 hours later**

"Oh, screw your coding," Vince grumbled to himself sarcastically, scanning trough his triple monitor setup at his station. He had countless machines wired to a massive supercomputer, and basically had the entire network of anything and everything at his paws. He combed his paw through his snowy hair and continued murmuring to himself.

"Come on…" he growled softly, waiting for the auto-conversion mechanism to finish. "Can't do anything if I can't read anything…"

The machine beeped, and the incomprehensible lines on the screen pixelated, and were swiftly replaced with a recognizable language for the arctic fox. He smiled faintly as he mulled over his options.

"Alright… Doesn't look like I can disable it right away… bummer…" He punched in a few keys, then messed with a long string of computer coding.

"I can overload it… Maybe cause it to malfunction, then it'll shut down on its own… Perfect…"

He followed through on his own script, typing specific Cornerian counter-coding into the Earth satellite. However, unlike his seemingly perfect script in his head, the satellite stayed online and began transmitting many numerous signals.

"Shit. What'd I do? What'd I do?" Vince panicked, trying to assess his work. However, the satellite's sudden burst of other communications impeded his progress significantly. He attempted to type in every kill code or virus he could think of off the top of his head, but the satellite kept interrupting him.

"Oh come on," Vince grumbled a bit louder than he should have. "The Huskies are practically on top of them and I can't disable this damn thing?" He picked up his head and shouted across the room. "Travis! Kill the damn transmitters will ya?"

"On it," another voice shouted, and within moments the numerous signals froze in place. "Hurry up and kill it; I can't hold it steady for much longer."

The vulpine struggled for a few more seconds before finally finishing his implementation of a highly destructive virus into the satellite. Within a minute, the entire satellite grid was terminated, and communications on the planet's surface instantly ceased. He sighed rather audibly and sat back in his office chair.

"Well that worked just perfect," Vince grumbled bitterly, then raised his voice. "Hey Arti, did you catch anything they were transmitting?"

"Not too much, but quite a bit," a blue jay responded, not looking up from his screen. "They made a ton of calls, and a few people on the ground tried to reestablish connections."

"Did any of them go through?" Vince asked, walking over to the small avian.

"Only a few, but I was able to kill 'em off before they got to our grid," he responded proudly. "I was able to translate a call saying they authorized A-10's… whatever those are."

"Probably computer code terms... Don't worry about it. Good work Arthur."

Vince patted the avian's back as he turned around and sat back at his station. He growled softly and slouched back, eyeing the screens and caressing his muzzle.

"Hopefully it was as stressful for them as it was for us…"

* * *

**North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) HQ – Peterson Air Force Base – Colorado Springs, Colorado**

"Uh, McChord base, we're reading fifty bogeys in your sector, heading south east of Vancouver, can you verify?" the main station controller called out, glancing at his radar screens.

The controller at the McChord base chuckled. "Very funny station. Scopes are clear. ACS might be malfunctioning, over."

The main station controller grunted and took a longer look at the radar. Ten red triangles were indeed on the scope in formation, quickly advancing on the McChord base. Something wasn't right.

"Station control, please run diagnostics on ACS feed, over."

Another faint voice came on the call in the background. "There might be a glitch in the module. Try running a quick reboot of the system."

The main controller was about to disengage the radar for a quick restart, but noticed something down lower on the screen. He gasped and quickly called another station. "Vandenberg station, we've got eyes on seventy more bogeys heading east north east in your sector, please verify."

"Uh, negative, station," The Vandenberg controller responded skeptically. "Skies are clear. Something's definitely bugged on your end, over."

The controller groaned and punched a few buttons on his screen. The red triangles kept flashing on the screen, and were quickly advancing on shore. However, from what the smaller Air Force bases' controllers were telling him, they weren't there at all.

"Running diagnostics on echo sector, scanning for malfunction," another person said across the room.

The controller backed up and spoke to another transmissions manager. "Why's it bugging out so bad? It never does this."

"Yeah, that is really strange," the Vandenberg controller agreed. "Usually ACS doesn't glitch out like this. Hopefully it was just a bit of solar interference. There is some heavy sun spot activity today."

"I sure hope your right," the main controller agreed, watching as the dots from both sectors kept inching closer to land. The room gradually became louder as more voices started piping up and machines started whirring louder.

"Diagnostics initiated, approximately three minutes."

"PAVE PAWS disengaged, over."

"Station Control, this is Nellis Air Force Base, scopes are clear in bravo sector, over."

"See station?" the McChord base controller said. "I don't know what to tell ya, you've got yourself some phantom dots."

The main controller called another main station. "Uh," he sighed loudly as he zoomed out over the entire continent on his radar screen. "Delta wing, we're reporting an ACS fault here, can you confirm anything in your sector?" There was silence for a few seconds. Too long of a silence. The controller repeated with more inflection.

"Dover Air Force Base, do you copy? Do you have anything on your scope?"

Again, another painfully long silence. The controller zoomed in on the New England strip, but saw nothing on the radar. Right as the controller was about to resend his message, a loud, muffled, static filled message silenced the room, and the sudden burst of red that filled the sector dropped the controller's heart into his stomach.

_"__They're everywhere!"_


	9. Language Barrier

**A/N: Good lord you guys are awesome! 5 or 6 reviews on the last chapter? Wow, thank you guys so much! I'm also happy that some of you guys got the reference at the end of the last chapter. You know who you are, and what it was... I remembered that when writing that part and figured it was too good of an opportunity to pass up. ;)**

**Also, don't know if you guys knew or not, but I got another new story up on my account. Plot wise, it is absolutely nothing like this, but I have a feeling you guys will enjoy that one just as much. It's called Subzero if you guys want to check it out (which I encourage doing so). And, just like this story, I want as much feedback as you can give me! Thanks in advance!**

**Last point: all you sadistic, bloodthirsty viewers that are reading this, eat your heart out. And RottenLee Ravenous, if you're reading this, if you have someone shoot me, you won't get longer and better chapters such as this. You're welcome. ;P**

**Anyway, sorry about the longer-than-usual AN, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

**10 miles outside Boston, Massachusetts**

"All huskies, report," Sheila said sternly, checking and flicking at her own Arwing instruments. One by one, radio transmissions from each of her squadron members resounded in her ears.

"This is Staff Sargent Kassian, Husky 4 ready."

"Husky 7, clear to engage."

"Husky 6, all systems go."

"This is Richardson, Husky 3 is all clear."

"Garrison here, Husky 8 good to go."

"Husky 5, ready."

"Sargent Major Alex Sharp, Husky 2 optimized, ready for first maneuvers."

"Attack formation V-4, follow me," Sheila commanded, then tilted her Arwing downwards, followed by her seven other squadron members. They aligned in a V pattern, with Sheila up front and Huskies 2, 3, 5, and 8 on the left, and 4, 6, and 7 on the right. Sheila saw the skyline quickly becoming larger in her view, and radioed in once again.

"Alright boys, you know the drill. Swift and strong. No fancy shit. In and out, clean."

Sharp threw his voice in; his loud, authoritative voice echoing in the headsets. "Stay in formation; three repeated strikes one after another. Don't give them any room to fight back."

Sheila slowly throttled forward, picking up speed as the Boston skyline quickly became visible for each member. A deep, unknown voice came in on Sheila's transmissions line, startling her.

"Aircraft, identify yourself," the unknown caller barked in a harsh tone.

Sheila smirked and radioed her wingmen. "Anyone catch that? I don't speak asshole," she said sarcastically, causing the seven other huskies to erupt in laughter at the Major's comment. Sheila herself giggled a bit but then asked another question. "Kass, you got the translator, right?"

"Yeah," Kassian responded. "Human asked to identify… well, _commanded_ to identify."

"Harsh... Okay, put the translator on my end for a sec." A beep on her line signified that the instrument had been transferred. She responded to the caller in a firm, but calm voice.

"ATC, this is Husky Squadron, requesting permission to engage, over."

"Heh, I thought you said no messing around, Spitz," Sharp chuckled, adjusting his laser output.

The controller responded with a skeptical tone translated by the Cornerian gear. "Husky Squadron? Quit messing around aircraft, identify yourself or we will use force."

"Well, that wouldn't be the first time you used force on something you didn't know," Sheila retorted. A chorus of "ooo's" resounded from the huskies, chuckling periodically at Sheila's response.

Sheila didn't even let the controller respond as she was already back on the verbal assault. "Now, I will identify myself again. I am Major Sheila Spitz, the lead Husky Squadron pilot of the Cornerian Defense Force. Your kind launched an attack on our planet, and my squadron and I have been instructed to teach you humans a lesson," Sheila said sternly, then added the seven huskies to the call. She spoke to them directly, still with the human in the call and with the translator disabled.

"Huoy, dineu'ci na suos! _Ad'yeaht!_"

Sharp and Garrison chuckled as they warmed up their twin laser cannons and waited for a target to come into range. Sheila knifed downward, gliding fifteen feet below the rest of the squadron. She let out a deep breath, and hit the red button on her analog steering. A small red dot shot out from her Arwing, and lanced toward a large building right up against the coastline. As soon as it hit, it detonated in a large, pale blue explosion, essentially vaporizing the large skyscraper instantly. The shock wave that emanated from the building shook the ground harshly, and started a massive orange blaze within a quarter-mile radius. The remaining huskies took the hint that they were not supposed to mess around, and replied with their own fire.

After the first flyover, well, they could've stopped right there. There were only a few large buildings standing, and the ones that were had large gouges taken out of them, with ink black smoke pouring out of the structures. The ground was engulfed in flames, and the sound of anguished screams plagued the quickly crumbling city.

The smoke that poured out of the city started to put a dark, eerie smog around everything around it. It was almost as if Boston was an active volcano, and it finally had its major eruption where the entire side of the volcano itself gets blown off. Like Mt. St. Helens, only on the eastern seaboard, and with the city of Boston as the active, exploding volcano.

There was nothing the city could do. Just as soon as the people saw the fighter squadron entering the city, the city itself practically became nonexistent just as fast. And the fact that the city was succumbing so quickly to a small squadron of eight gave Sheila a weird feeling in the back of her head.

"Just what I thought," Sheila mumbled. "No competition. Not even a little bit of defense. You would think that if they launched a missile like they did, they would try to protect themselves more…"

"Just give them a few minutes, Spitzie," Kassian responded, launching another highly volatile bomb at a large office complex, engulfing it in the pale blue glow of the CDF explosives. "Once they find out that we're here, they'll start trying to defend themselves. Don't let your guard down."

Almost as if on cue, Richardson noticed five large aircrafts quickly advancing on their location. The aircrafts were strange to him; there were two large circular protrusions near the back of the aircraft, with what looked to be extra sets of small wings behind them. As mentioned before, they were very large, and were a dirty, sandy looking silver color, with strange markings on the hull of the aircraft. The main wings shot out many feet from the actual body of the plane, and there were rockets on the underside of the wings. As the aircrafts closed in on the huskies, a loud, reverberating sound deafened the pilots.

_BRRRRRRRRRRRRRT_

"What the fuck is that?" Garrison shouted over the loud machine gun fire. He rolled downward in an attempt to shake the metal aircraft, but the death-machine was quickly back on his six.

"Huskies 5 and 7, break formation! Take those enemies down!" Sheila barked, then noticed that one of those metal death bringers was right behind her, and heard the faint sound of a rotary gun whirring as it closed in.

"I gotcha Spitzie," Kassian announced before firing a blue laser right into the cockpit of the aircraft. The whirring stopped instantly, and the large aircraft dipped downward and smashed into the ground, erupting in a giant fireball. Sheila sighed in relief and thanked her savior.

"Thanks Kass. Stick with me; we'll take out that last ones."

Kassian acknowledged by gliding up right beside her. They wound what was left of a large building and came within viewpoint of one of those earth aircrafts exploding at the hands of Husky 6.

"Good shit, Gally," Sharp praised as he flew up right behind the Arwing.

"Guys, I'm in trouble," Richardson announced as Sheila noticed that the last aircraft was right on his tail. The god-awful rotary gun blared loudly as Richardson's Arwing endured a barrage of machine gun fire. What disheartened the female husky was that the Arwing's shielding did not activate against the storm of metal bullets swarming his aircraft.

"Husky 3, pitch left, I'll finish him," the fifth Arwing's feminine voice announced, commencing her blue laser fire on the metal aircraft. One of her lasers hit the cylindrical protrusion, and the aircraft instantly erupted into flames and smashed into a small building, completely shrouding the structure in a bright orange blaze.

"Looks like that was the last one," Sheila announced. "Form back up. 14, O-92. Waste 'em!"

The huskies quickly formed up in another arrow pattern, then as soon as they had a good angle the commenced fire again. Nothing was spared as hundreds of blue lasers ripped into anything they touched. It was a complete and total massacre as there was nothing the people on the ground could do. They could only sit, hope, and _pray_ that they would make it to live another day.

Sheila chuckled as one of Sharp's bombs hit the ground in the middle of a large business district, and as fast as they saw the explosion, it was even quicker watching the charred remnants of the buildings fall to the ground. Even though they were in the air, they could still feel the ground shake when the hundred foot tall buildings toppled onto one another one by one. It was a game of who could knock down the most dominoes, and the only winners of the game were the husky pilots. They had the undisputed, uncontested title of their new game.

Sheila looked around and saw the remnants of their first target, then quickly radioed her wingmen. "Alright, we've done enough here. How you guys holding up?"

"Sharp here, all good."

"This is Gallagher, Husky 6 is alright."

"Husky 4, undamaged."

"Husky 8 took a few shots, but still going strong."

"This is Richardson, I'm a little beat up but I'm good."

"Husky 5, all clear."

"MacKinnon here, Husky 7 is perfect."

Sheila smiled and radioed back to Pepper's flagship. "All clear general. First target compromised; awaiting further instructions."

Pepper's voice radioed back a few seconds later, obviously relieved and pleased. "Perfect! Good job Major. You can proceed to the next point whenever you're ready."

"Affirmative," she switched back to her squadron call. "You heard the general, let's move!"

* * *

**15 miles outside Chicago, Illinois**

"That the last box?" Nathan asked the feminine body as she effortlessly lifted a large box into the bed of his pickup truck. She grunted as the truck dipped slightly at the weight of the box.

"Yeah, that's the last one," she responded, wiping sweat from her forehead. "Thank you so much Nate. I… I can't say how thankful I am."

"Heh, anytime Taylor," Nathan responded, gently hugging the smaller body. Taylor was about three inches smaller than Nathan's six foot frame. Her light brown eyes and hair were almost the exact same shade as each other, with her hair being only a little darker. Speaking of her hair, it was neatly braided into a long ponytail, and stretched beyond her shoulder blades. She was a relatively smaller woman, and although she was small, she didn't lack attractiveness in any way, shape, or form. She was beautiful on the outside, with a military background on the inside. She fought alongside of the bearded male next to her for many years, and the two seemed to have perfect chemistry with each other.

"You need help loading up the plane?" Nathan asked.

"Oh, actually yes," she replied, closing the door to the back. Taylor slipped into the driver's seat while Nathan rode shotgun. They pulled out of a dirt driveway and onto a small rural country road.

It was an unusually warm day for Chicago. Usually the city didn't exceed sixty degrees in the middle of October, but today was an exception sitting at a comfortable sixty-eight. Not only that, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the wind was only a slight breeze. Nathan stuck his muscular arm out of the black pickup truck's window as he turned to face the driver.

"I never asked, what was this new job you got all the way in Tacoma?"

Taylor smirked and glanced at the passenger. "Ok, You're not gonna believe this, but I got accepted for a full time job at McChord Air Force Base!"

"You gotta be kidding me!" Nathan chuckled, nudging the driver's arm. "They accepted you out of what, fifty others?"

"Fifty-two."

"Whatever. You lucky as hell girl. Don't let it go to waste."

"Oh, believe me, I won't," she giggled, turning onto a larger road.

"Promise me you'll keep in contact with me even when you're that far away?" Nathan asked with faint puppy-dog-eyes.

"Ay, not a prob, Foxie," Taylor assured, putting her arm around the passenger. "We've been friends since middle school, lived with each other in college, and even fought for years in the army together. You think I'll just leave you in the dark after I move?"

"You do make a point," Nathan smiled. "Just don't forget about me, m'kay?"

"I won't pull a Justin. Don't worry."

"Did'ja hear that Justin is working for NASA now? Kennedy Space Center?"

"Doesn't surprise me at all. He always was a big space nerd."

"Hey, so am I," Nathan responded, trying to sound hurt as he pushed her arm off of his shoulder. "I still got the job with Rockford's observation wing."

"Find anything?" she taunted condescendingly. "What, a rock? Oooo big deal eh? Ha ha ha!"

Nathan cleared his throat and gave a friendly glare to the driver. "As a matter of fact I did. Found an unidentified satellite in orbit two days ago."

Taylor forced in a pity laugh. "Congrats, you found an NSA surveillance satellite. Whoopee."

"No, it couldn't have been. It was weird. It didn't have any solar panels, and it was super long and sleek; like a floating oil pipe."

"Hmm," she hummed curiously. "Never heard of anything like that before."

"Same here. Hopefully it's not anything Russian or whatever."

"Don't even get me started," Taylor giggled, shaking her head faintly. A few silent seconds passed on the highway as Taylor was driving full speed towards the airport. Nathan suddenly heard a faint jet engine boom, and turned to face the foggy Chicago skyline.

"You heard that too?" Taylor asked, switching to the outermost lane.

"Yeah, F-16 sonic boom. I see 'em coming now."

Nathan was right. Four sleek, silver jets zoomed overhead and raced away from the skyline. About a mile out, the jets quickly reversed course and began racing back towards the large city. Nathan's awe quickly turned to curiosity as the planes came closer. The strange shape of the aircrafts perplexed him, as they had an almost distinct 'A' shape. No U.S. plane had that kind of construction that he knew of.

"Those thunderbirds?" the brown haired woman asked.

"I don't think so. I don't even think they're 16's. They almost look like Hornets."

"Hornets are Navy planes though. What're they doing on land?"

Nathan watched as the unknown aircrafts quickly formed a V pattern and swooped low to the ground. They suddenly saw the aircrafts start launching blue laser-like projectiles at the ground below, each one detonating in a small explosion. Oncoming cars were obliterated, gouges were taken from the highway, and craters appeared in the ground as hundreds of lasers flowed out of the aircrafts. The sudden sound of the countless detonations at one time was deafening.

"Tay, watch it!"

The driver was already way ahead as she floored the brake petal and deviated off of the road and onto the shoulder. As the truck skidded to a stop, the two passengers jumped out and fled from the oncoming assault, just as a stray laser detonated the road mere feet from where the truck had stopped, flipping the truck onto its side.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Taylor shouted over the loud jet engines shooting overhead. Her reflexes were tested as a deafening boom was heard in the background, and she crouched low to the ground as if she was ducking under a dodgeball.

"We're getting attacked!" Nathan shouted, gazing out at the aircrafts quickly advancing on Chicago. Faint rumbles were heard, then a pale blue spherical orb emanated from a building and ink black smoke instantly started pouring out.

He also saw a massive cruiser slowly descending on the city. It was easily the size of a football field, and could potentially block out the sun for miles. Nathan recognized the objects being flung from the cruiser, and realized that the city was about to be swarmed on foot as well as in the air.

"Tay, you up for some action?"

Taylor giggled with a sly grin. "I've been waiting for combat ever since the wars ended…"

"Good. I got a gun in my glove box… Go find one of those abandoned cars and start it up. We need to see if we can help anyone trapped downtown."

* * *

**Downtown Chicago, Illinois**

"Alright, four flyovers should do it, let's get on the ground." James commanded, dipping his Arwing down in a large clearing near a massive lake. As soon as the plane hit the ground, James was out and rushing towards a large building, and Wes, who had taken Wolf's position, quickly followed. Peppy and Riley stayed in the sky, as they were not known for ground combat.

James and Wes stood their backs up against a large building with their large automatic rifles, while the vulpine stuck his muzzle around the corner. James growled as he saw some furless soldiers in heavy equipment scouring the area for signs of resistance. They also looked to be aiding any remaining civilians, which surprised him because they had obliterated anything they saw while in the sky.

"Four on the left, five on the right. I'll take right," James said quietly, and slipped around the corner and hid behind what looked like a black sedan. The transportation that the humans used were very underdeveloped in comparison to Corneria; they were large, and looked very unsafe and flimsy. He disregarded that fact, and slid his 3x gray tinted scope over a human that was not moving. He was just staring, moving his head around like a security camera. James quietly pulled the trigger, and the human instantly fell to the ground.

"Oh shit, got a man down!" a soldier yelled, dropping down to the felled body. James grunted and hacked repulsively as he overheard the human.

"Dennis was right, that is nasty," James muttered silently, then trained his scope on another soldier. One quick squeeze and the soldier was no more.

"Ambush!" another soldier yelped, raising his weapon. Wes took the opportunity and shot a few blue rounds at the group.

James barked to get the humans' attention, then dropped one after the other with one precise shot after the other. It was strangely calming to him, watching as his enemies fell to the cold ground one by one, even two at a time at his paws. It soothed him, physically and mentally.

"Got 'em all, let's get closer!" Wes commanded, darting out from behind the building and quickly rushed down the crippled, destroyed street. The city was quiet, even with the constant blare of air-raid sirens and distant gunfire. If it weren't for those, the city would be dead quiet. _Dead_ quiet.

James turned around a corner and blew two unsuspecting soldiers heads right off of their shoulders. Another group of five about 200 meters down the street heard the commotion and returned fire. Right as the vulpine ducked in an alleyway, he felt something strange hit his stomach. He looked down and saw something metal protruding from his vest. He snickered as he pulled the bullet from his gear, not penetrating more than a quarter inch into the material.

"Atta boy Vinny," James chuckled silently, then popped his head around the corner to see the soldiers slowly advancing on him. He instantly ducked back in as he heard voices, and the voices progressively got louder as they slowly approached his position.

"Did you see where he went?" a first voice asked.

"Somewhere down here… I hit him, I saw it hit him," a second replied.

"Did you see what it looked like? It wasn't human," came a third one.

"Yeah! I think I saw a tail when he slipped around the corner," the first voice agreed.

_150 meters._

"A tail? What, are we fighting animals now?" the second one asked skeptically.

"No, it was a– it wasn't human, but it sure as hell looked like one," the third replied.

"It had a fucking tail, Johnson. It's not human."

_100 meters._

"What's it got besides the tail? Ears? Paws?" a fourth soldier asked mockingly.

"Don't mock me. I know what I saw," the third one said sternly.

"I saw it too," the fifth voice piped up. "Looked like one of those _things_ you'd see at those weird ass conventions."

"Ha, a furry? You can't be serious," the first one said with a chuckle.

_50 meters. Just a few more–_

"If we're fighting furries, we've slumped to an all-time low," the second one admitted.

"Did you see what they did to the city?" the first voice questioned. "We've got a big time enemy right now, and we can't take them for gra–"

James popped out and fired, hitting three of them right in the skull, and two in their chest and legs, dropping every single one to the ground. The one who was still alive groaned out in pain as he felt the intense heat of the laser fire cauterize his wounds. He looked up and saw a futuristic rifle between his eyes, and a strange looking shadow holding the rifle.

"What the fuck are you?" the human grunted, clutching at his chest wound.

"Yuun jus'ca twoif," James growled, wrapping his paw around the soldier's shirt line, and thrusting him against the brick wall. The human wheezed loudly and glared at the figure, but his glare turned to shock and pure terror as he realized what he was looking at. It was a fox; a large, anthropomorphized orange-brown fox, with pale green eyes and a cream colored muzzle and eyebrows. The soldier wasn't good at reading emotions, but he could tell the fox was pissed. The fox growled as any normal fox would do, and revealed a combat knife from his flight suit pocket. He gasped and his eyes dilated as the sun reflected off of the blade.

"Wha– no, p-please, don't–"

The human's lifeless corpse hit the ground with an audible thud. He sheathed the knife and walked over to the wolf hybrid, who had just put a laser between a marksman's eyes at 300 meters away.

"More troops are coming in later," Wes announced, putting his back up against a building. He pointed down the street towards multiple crippled buildings. "There's a clearing. We can flag them down from there."

"Alright," James nodded, nudging the hybrid with the stock of his rifle. "You hear anything from Husky?" he asked, walking down the deserted street calmly.

"They just finished off New York. Just like Boston, they had virtually no interference other than a few squadrons of small fighter jets."

"The same ones from Boston?"

"No, they were smaller. Christina intercepted communications saying they were F-22's, whatever the hell those are," Wes chuckled, adjusting the stock of his rifle. "Heh, Mackinnon took out four of those smaller planes all by himself. Didn't stand a chance."

James laughed and glanced up at the sky. "There! Get the flare out."

**#####**

Taylor drove a stolen silver car around a corner and into what was left of a parking garage. Both veterans left the car and silently crawled around the vacant, decimated city looking for a trace of life. The sight was terrible; there were blazes burning in almost every single building, and there were numerous stains of red on the sidewalk. At least the enemy cleaned up after itself somewhat.

"Tay, is that– mmhmfh."

"Shhh," Taylor hissed, putting her forearm in Nathan's face; pushing him up against a building. "Arctic camo vests. That's not us."

Nathan eyeballed around the street and saw what she was hissing about. One soldier, heavily equipped with a light gray overcoat and helmet, with a futuristic rifle in his gloves was slowly walking down the sidewalk. The soldier was about his height, and looked fairly slim, even with the heavy equipment and–

"What the hell is sticking out of his pants?" Nathan questioned quietly, noticing the limp, gray, fuzzy protrusion jutting out from just below his waistline and ending just above his ankles. It waved back and forth as the soldier slowly trotted down the street.

"Is… that a tail?" Taylor scoffed confusedly. "Why does it have a tail?"

Nathan nudged her and ducked into an alleyway a few feet down the street. Luckily, the tailed soldier didn't notice the duo. Once they were out of sight, Nathan gapped at the closer view of the soldier. It wasn't a human, and along with the tail, it had two white ears sticking out of slits in his helmet, and a long facial protrusion just under the tinted visor with some pearly white teeth visible as it yawned quite audibly.

"Holy hell," she whispered. "Is that a dog? An anthro'd dog?"

"Shhh, he can probably hear us," Nathan whispered back, lifting his recently suppressed 1911 handgun at the soldier. A quick glance in both directions yielded no opposition, so he took his perfect opportunity and fired, nailing the canine right below the helmet line. It made no sound as he fell to the ground.

"Grab him and bring him back here," Taylor suggested, nudging him in the back.

"Alright, watch my back."

Nathan popped out of his safe haven, rushed across the double lane avenue, and crouched low to the anthro soldier. He smirked as he noticed the bullet entered cleanly in the canine's temple. Nathan pulled off the soldier's vest, swiftly donned it around his own torso, and lifted the canine onto his shoulders.

"Fuck you're heavy," he grumbled, adjusting the awkward framed soldier on his back. The female saw him struggling with the canine and kicked a side door in to a small building. Nathan grunted as he slipped in the doorway and threw the corpse on the floor. He sighed and stretched his back out, watching the other person lower herself to the soldier.

"How come you get the vest?" she complained as she searched the anthro corpse.

"I killed him, I get the prize. You take the bucket."

Taylor hesitantly pulled the helmet off of the canine's head, but groaned and tossed it aside. "Dude, it's got holes on the top for his ears. Not gonna help me any."

"Fine, take his gun. That doesn't have any holes in it," Nathan retorted sarcastically like a teenager.

Taylor pulled a small handgun like object from the soldier's pants, and examined it curiously. It was sleek black with patches that glowed in various bright colors around it. She looked below the handle, and noticed there was no ammo cartridge, but a battery meter that was at 78%. She shrugged and stuffed the alien weapon into her pocket, then resumed searching the canine.

"Animal abuse," Taylor chuckled sarcastically, clutching the canine's muzzle and shaking it. Nathan laughed and kicked at the unmoving tail.

"You're the one that loves animals."

"I know," Taylor responded sadly, caressing the anthro soldier's ears. "Poor fella… Wonder if he was–"

She was cut off as Nathan hissed and practically threw the other human against the wall. Neither of them moved as they heard faint, muffled voices from outside.

"Kun'gusé?" a weird tongue said in a questioning tone. Another voice quickly answered.

"Tohn a na nuis'le jui."

"That's the weirdest language I've ever heard," Nathan whispered.

Taylor looked out the window and saw a swarm around where Nathan had shot the first soldier. Their tails were flicking wildly as they spoke to each other in their alien language.

"I think they're on to us… let's get out of here."

* * *

**Washington, D.C.**

"Where?" The President of the United States asked impatiently, sitting at his desk in the underground safe haven underneath the white house.

"He's on his way down, sir," a black suited security guard responded, looking at his watch.

"I need him down here now! Philadelphia just got obliterated and he's taking his sweet ass time? Why?"

"Sir, I don't have any clue why," the agent said humbly. "He said he would be here soon."

The president grumbled and sat back in his chair. President Derrick Wilson was only in his first term as a president of the most powerful nation in the world, and he was already dealing with problems within his own nation. Forty-five minutes ago, he had received his first notification that the nation was under attack. A small squadron of eight unknown, sleek and silver fighter jets swiftly swarmed the city without the slightest bit of warning. Then only fifteen minutes after that attack ended, that same group was at New York, along with countless other aircrafts and a large warship. Within minutes, that same city was compromised.

To make matters worse, the unknown assailants had managed to hack into their satellites, and completely disabled any and all radio transmissions and radar imagery. After New York had succumbed to the fighters, the entire nation went dark, and nobody was able to communicate with anyone.

A sudden, hard knock was heard at the vault door, making the gray haired president almost fall out of his chair.

"That must be him," the guard stated, and turned around to open the heavy door. Once the door was open, the agent fell to the floor with a loud thud. A lightly equipped soldier holding a sleek handgun became visible to the shocked president as the lifeless agent fell to the ground. A slight giggle escaped the soldier as it walked into the office and sat on the president's desk, still not releasing the grip on the weapon. The soldier punched in a few buttons on its wrist device, and spoke softly to the petrified president.

"How you doing?" a feminine voice asked, making Wilson's heart skip a beat.

The president could only stare with a blank stare. Mostly because of fear, but somewhat out of curiosity as well. The first thing he noticed about the soldier was that _she_ had a tail. A long, sandy brown and white tail. The second thing he noticed was a white protruding muzzle sticking out under her helmet. He had never seen anything like it before. It looked as though a human and a Siberian husky mixed together and produced this anthropomorphic alien creature. Even if she was alien, she still looked pretty adorable with the faint smile she had. He easily could have reached out and pet her if she wouldn't have had the weapon in her paw.

The female soldier slowly took off her flight helmet, revealing an explosion of light brown hair, along with two pointy canine ears of similar color. She tilted her head backwards and shook, and it seemed as though her hair multiplied in volume exponentially with that one movement.

"You must be the leader of this country, correct?" she asked, surprisingly politely, making the middle aged man shift awkwardly. She noticed the man's discomfort and giggled, stowing her handgun in her pants.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt ya," she assured, then outstretched her white, furry paw. "Name's Sheila."

The paw was weird to Wilson. It looked like a human hand; strikingly similar to a human hand, but it had pads on its tips and palm like a regular dog's paw, along with it being covered in a coat of white fur. He hesitantly reached out his own hand and gingerly grasped the husky's paw.

"See? Nothing to be worried about," Sheila smiled, tightening her grasp on the human's hand. The president let out a faint, sheepish chuckle as he felt the strange warmth of the paw in his own hand. Again, she tightened her grip even more, and the feeling suddenly became noticeable and uncomfortable for him.

"Now… Let's talk," she said sternly, not releasing her grip. "Do you know who we are?"

President Wilson saw a glint casted off of the husky's shirt. He squinted and noticed the words 'Major Sheila Spitz – Husky 1' on a small metal pendant. He instantly felt chills and all the color leave his face._ It's the group that attacked Boston._

Sheila felt his sudden discomfort and giggled. "Now you do… And I assume you know why we're here?"

"If you're gonna kill me then do it!" he suddenly spat, jerking his hand from the female's paw. As he staggered backwards, a red dot became noticeable on his white dress shirt. He glanced over Sheila's shoulder and saw another dog-like creature standing in the doorway. He was much taller and had significantly less hair, but his pure white and jet black fur contrasted so much with itself that it was intimidating nonetheless. He had the faint trace of a dark black mullet sticking out of his helmet, and his dark eyes shot into the president, making him start feeling sweat on his forehead. Sheila's ear twitched as she heard the other husky's weapon prime.

"Sharp, wait," Sheila pleaded, bolting over and grabbing the barrel of the darker canine's carbine. She used her free hand to flick a switch on her wrist device, and spoke to Sharp so that the human wouldn't understand.

"Ue'n shen luit?" Sharp asked, poking his carbine in the direction of the petrified president.

Sheila shook her head and pointed at the door. "Al shué lu kuus. Ru'ne."

Sharp nodded and stood in the doorway; his back turned on the copper husky. His long, dark tail wagged faintly as he stood in the doorway like a bouncer. Sheila fiddled with her wrist again and suddenly spoke plain English to the human.

"Sorry about that. Anyway," she smirked as she noticed the confused look on the human's face. "I personally won't kill you; it's that guy over there you have to worry about."

"I'm right here!" Sharp whined, not turning around. Sheila giggled and sat back on the large oak desk.

"Anyway, no. We aren't killing you. Just sending a message," she stated with the faint trace of a scowl.

"What for?" President Wilson asked impatiently, making glances around the room for something to protect himself with.

"Don't act like you don't know what you did!" Sheila snapped, shooting up from her sitting position. "You made the decision, did you not?"

"What decision?"

Sheila groaned and inched closer to the petrified human, cocking her head. "_Your_ missile? The one that destroyed our city? The one that murdered millions of _our_ innocent civilians?" she repeatedly questioned, each question becoming more hostile than the last.

"I'm sorry… Sheila… I don't have the slightest clue on what you're talking about," Wilson tried to explain calmly, but a loud growl silenced him.

"Are you seriously trying to play dumb? Do you know who you're dealing with?" Sheila asked angrily, hovering her paw around the handgun holstered at her leg. President Wilson cringed and inched closer to the bookshelves on the side of the room as he again tried to explain himself.

"I'm not playing dumb, and I have no idea who you aliens are," he shot, disregarding the husky's stare. Sheila grabbed at the weapon but did not un-holster it.

Sheila used her open paw to rub her forehead. "You humans are dumber than you act," she spat, glaring at the president. "Just admit it; you attacked our planet!"

"We didn't attack anyone!" Wilson shot back, expertly reaching behind him without the husky noticing. "I don't even know what planet you come from, or what the hell you're doing on ours!"

"Quit lying!" Sheila snarled, stomping closer to the president.

Wilson felt a cold sensation in his hand, then looked at the husky. "All I know is that you're trespassing on government property, and I have the right to–"

Wilson suddenly pulled his hand forward and swung at her with a small steel pipe. Sheila didn't move quick enough and felt the force of the pipe on the right side of her chest. She doubled over and tried to pull out her weapon, but the gray haired president quickly swung again, chopping the handgun from her paw. She yelped as she felt the sting on her paw, and before she could process her next move Wilson swung again, this time hitting her left arm. Another swing from the heavy pipe right to her spine dropped the husky to the ground.

"Back off, fur-ball!" President Wilson shouted, drawing the attention of the other husky in the doorway. An expert shot from Sharp's carbine flung the weapon right out of the human's hand, and another one ripped through his lower leg, instantly immobilizing him and dropping him to the cement floor. The dark husky slowly walked over, still with his weapon trained on the human, and helped the copper husky to her feet.

"Jun'uza yuf," Sheila snarled, then harshly kicked the wounded president in the gut. He wheezed loudly as she lifted him off the ground and pinned him against the wall. Her muzzle was inches away from his face, and her eyebrows were tilted so far down they were almost vertical. Wilson could feel the enraged breath leave the female husky's nose.

"Give me a good reason why I shouldn't blow your brains out right now," Sharp growled, priming his weapon again. He moved closer to the human, but stopped and spun around as he heard footsteps behind him.

"Guys!" another husky shouted, panting in the doorway. His dark gray fur and flight suit had spots of blood soaked in all over it, and he was gasping for air with a paw over a large stain of red on his midsection.

"Richie? What happened?" Sharp questioned, looking at his bloodstained flight suit. Sheila cranked her head around to the voices, and her maw opened up at the pitiful sight of the injured husky.

"There's someone fighting back!" Richardson cried. "He already got Gallagher, and he's coming up–"

The husky was instantly cut off as a noise only equivalent to the sound of punching an empty filing cabinet resounded from the hall behind him. The right side of his face suddenly exploded in a burst of red, which caused Sheila to shriek loudly and cover her maw. The poor husky slowly fell to the ground sideways, unbeknownst of what had slain him, with blood oozing out of his recent wound and onto the cement floor. Sharp instantly spun around and grabbed Sheila's arm, then dropped her and the human behind the president's desk.

"Mr. President?" Colonel Trent's harsh voice echoed in the large doorway. He holstered a massive silver handgun, then picked up the recently slain anthro and threw his corpse up against the bookshelf, causing it to collapse in a loud crash.

"What the fuck did you furries do with President Wilson?!" he shouted, bringing his gun out again. He swiftly spun around as he heard something behind him, but that didn't do anything against Sharp's carbine blasting him in the chest. He was flung backwards at the sudden impact of the laser, and laid on the floor gasping and coughing up blood.

"You fucker," Sharp growled, bringing the gun inches from Trent's face. "You have no idea the hell you just put yourself into," he said sternly, then flipped the gun around and knocked the human out cold with the stock of his carbine. He turned to Sheila, who had a tear running down her fur.

She muttered to herself disbelievingly and incomprehensibly, cupping her head in her paws. She revealed her irate blue eyes to the president, who still had a death grip on his leg. The rage seemed to course through her veins and she wanted nothing more than to see her opposition burn in an all-consuming fire. That same fire burned in her pale blue eyes as she turned and stared into Sharp's soul with a look that could curdle blood.

"Kill him," she commanded softly, causing the president to flush.

"Spitz, we need him al–"

"FUCKING KILL HIM!" she snarled, kicking the president in the gut again with more force than before.

"I can't! He's valuable. We can get more information out of him," Sharp tried explaining, but Sheila was in a state of blind rage. She shot up, ripped the carbine out of his paws, pushed him back a few feet with the barrel of the weapon, and then aimed the red crosshairs over the president's head.

"Sheila, don't!"

**_BANG_**


	10. Two Guys Walk Into A Bar

**A/N: I will gladly take a snow day from classes in the middle of the week. Right now, it's way below sub-zero temps, even without the god-awful wind chills and excessive snow. Granted, it's not the New England strip that has what, 6 feet? Probably more? You guys are troopers, lemme tell ya. If you guys on the east coast are reading this right now, stay safe! I don't live over there so I don't get the first-hand experience, but from what I've seen it's downright brutal over there. Again, stay safe you guys!  
**

**Anyway, I've kept you guys in suspense for long enough. Enjoy the next chapter, and please, the more feedback the better. I got SO many reviews on the last chapter, and that's what I love to see. I love all the feedback so far, and I'd love to see that positive trend continue. And yes, I've realized I've beaten the shit out of the dead horse, so I'll just stop right now and get on with the story. ;)**

**You guys have a good one, and I'll see ya next time!**

* * *

**Downtown Chicago, Illinois**

"Nate… Nate look," Taylor whispered, pointing at a large warship a few blocks down. The ship was massive, and looked as though it had four large stabilizing wings; two on each side. What looked to be the main bridge was jutting out of the hull and above two large cannons. They inched closer in silence, building by building until they came within two city blocks of the silver warship.

Nathan hissed quietly as he saw dozens of anthro soldiers with ears sticking straight up and tails wagging slightly, swarming the area around the ship. "Tay… We need to get in there."

"Are you insane?" Taylor questioned. "You're just asking for us to get fried."

"No, seriously. We can probably sabotage their ship. Maybe get them out of our asses."

"But, dude, there's so many of those damn furry soldiers everywhere. We can't sneak in with them around cause they'll spot us right away."

Nathan nodded slowly, then gestured for her to follow. They crept around a building and noticed two tails facing towards them. Nathan pointed at the left one, and then nudged Taylor's shoulder, handing her his silenced 1911. Taylor nodded in acknowledgement, and then the duo silently crept up behind the two soldiers.

Nathan shot out and grabbed the canine's neck with one arm, and clamped down on his muzzle with the other. The other soldier recoiled at the sudden sight, but Taylor expertly put a bullet right between his eyes with the silenced handgun, dropping him to the ground before he could signal help. Nathan's target growled and struggled as best as he could, but could not muster enough strength to fight the human. His jerky movements to break free became weaker and less numerous, and pretty soon his movements stopped all together. Nathan's arm held on for a bit longer after the canine had ceased moving, then silently set his head on the cement.

"Good shit…" Nathan chuckled silently, then gestured to the corpses. "Put on their uniforms. That's our best bet of getting aboard that ship."

Taylor started to unzip the soldier's heavy vest, but stopped halfway. "Uh, Nate? News flash; we don't have tails. They'll spot us regardless of the gear."

"Damn, you're right…" Nathan grumbled, then leaned up against the narrow alleyway. He smirked and kicked the unmoving tail, but Taylor cut him off before he could even explain.

"Hell no, I ain't cutting off his tail. That's disgusting and cruel," she whined, almost gagging.

"How else are we gonna disguise ourselves? It's not like it's humans against humans; it's humans against weird anthro furry animal soldiers. We can't really blend in easily."

"Well, hold on," Taylor started, then removed the rest of the soldier's uniform. The clothing was only a few sizes larger, but the good thing was the longer jacket underneath the main vest covered up the hole in the pants. She smiled and gestured to the other canine.

"The big coat underneath covers up the tail hole. We'll be fine."

"We're fine unless we get ears and a damn muzzle, Tay," Nathan retorted.

"Wait, Nate, the jackets have hoods. We can throw them up over our heads to hide what we don't have. As for the muzzle, just rip off part of his undershirt and stuff it under the scarf. It may not be perfect, but it just might work."

"I just hope he doesn't smell like wet dog," Nathan smirked, then dressed himself in the soldier's attire. Just like the other veteran, the uniform was large on him, which allowed the hole in the pants to be concealed. Nathan drew his pocketknife, cut out a large piece of the canine's tank top, and stuck it into the partial mask that was part of the soldier's uniform. Luckily for him, the shirt didn't smell like he thought it did, and the shirt improvised for a muzzle surprisingly well.

"We look ridiculous," Taylor complained, adjusting the shirt under her scarf.

"Yeah, but you look like one of them. Take their guns, and follow me to the ship. Try not to draw attention to yourself."

Right as Nathan popped out of the alleyway, Taylor swiftly grabbed the back of his stolen vest right on the neckline and pulled him back in. Right as he was going to protest, he noticed she was pointing at the corpse's wrist. There was a strange silver watch-like device strapped to his wrist, and it glowed in a faint blue color.

"You almost forgot that. That's important."

"Why?" Nathan asked, removing the small wristlet and strapping it onto his arm.

"It's got a bunch of things on it," she said, scrolling through the holographic options on her own wrist. "It's got codes, receivers, transmission lines, and most importantly a translator."

Nathan nodded and synced his device up, enabling the translator and eventually setting it to 'English' with a bit of difficulty in doing so. "Cornerian?" he recited skeptically. "That's a new one."

Taylor nudged him, then walked out of the alleyway with Nathan quickly pursuing. A few soldiers looked over to them, but immediately looked back to whatever it was they were doing prior. The disguise was working.

"So far so good," Taylor muttered silently, inching closer to the giant frigate. They were within fifty feet of the wide open hangar door when a dark furred soldier stopped them. He looked at the badges on their stolen uniforms, then glanced up at them with a slight smile.

"Taking a break guys?" the soldier asked with a chuckle. Nathan nodded and responded.

"Yeah, legs are killing me," he lied, stretching out his leg behind him. The canine chuckled more and lowered his rifle further.

"I don't blame ya… Damn city is huge. Anyway, go ahead and get some rest boys. We'll need you at one hundred when we move inward."

Nathan nodded again and slipped into the large warship. It was bigger than they expected once they walked in and gazed at the large hangar room. There were six distinct aircraft docking bays, with four of the sleek silver and blue fighters missing. After wandering the sprawling halls of the massive ship without anybody noticing their presence, they found a safe and secure place and pulled the canine's shirt out of their faces.

"I can't believe that worked," Taylor admitted. Nathan chuckled and pulled out his silenced 1911.

"Alright, let's snoop around and see if we can find anything."

Taylor nodded and followed Nathan down a long hallway silently. They crept around, making no sudden movements or overly loud sounds as they kept hearing the faint language of the alien animals reverberate in the seemingly desolate hallways. Every once in a while they would sneakily open a door in the cruiser, but it would always contain the same thing; just a few beds, a desk, and a small closet. Nathan approached another door, but hesitated as he heard sounds coming from the other side.

"Tay, there's someone in here," Nathan whispered, and held his gun upwards. He noticed the door was cracked slightly, and managed to eyeball around the room and look at the contents.

"Okay, one guy. Follow my lead, we can take him," he said, then slowly opened the door. There was a small fox creature that was strumming a sleek black guitar and was oblivious to the two humans slowly entering. He had a light brown, almost orange coat of fur, with a cream colored muzzle and eyebrows, and a short mohawk of the same color. His eyes were lowered on the guitar, but they could still see the pale green pigments in them. He was humming as his claws played one string after another. Nathan shut the door, causing it to click softly, but that was all the noise he needed. The fox's ear twitched, and his head looked up to see whoever entered his room, but his muzzle fell open as he saw the humans and instantly donned the look of pure fear.

The fox looked as if he was about to scream, but Nathan raised the weapon at him, which instantly froze the vulpine in absolute sheer terror.

"Nate, wait!" Taylor pleaded. "It's a kid. Don't kill him."

The fox shifted awkwardly and spoke up, barely breaking a petrified whimper. "Hanu'si ruun?" he asked, scooting backwards until his tail hit the back wall. His eyes were wide open and his ears were tilted towards the humans.

Nathan holstered the gun and struggled with the alien device on his wrist. He heard it click, then cleared his throat and looked at the little fox. Taylor quickly stepped in front of him and started speaking.

"Hey, little fella… Don't freak out, we're–"

"Go away! Don't hurt me!" he whined softly, curling up on his bed and burying his muzzle into his knees. Taylor smiled and held her hands up.

"Shh, it's ok, we're not gonna hurt you…"

The fox lifted his head up and cocked it slightly. "You're… not?"

"Of course not," Nathan smiled. "What's your name, buddy?" he asked, taking a few steps towards the vulpine.

"My… name?" he echoed hesitantly, still immensely terrified of his sudden visitors.

"Yes," Nathan chuckled faintly. "Your name. What do they call you?"

"I- I'm Fox," he stuttered, trying to avoid eye contact.

"Aww, that's adorable," Taylor squealed softly in Nathan's ear. "A fox named Fox? That's just too cute."

Nathan ignored her squealing and turned his head back to the little creature. He sat on his bed, causing Fox to scoot backwards even more.

"Hey, my last name is Fox," Nathan said with a smile. "My name's Nathan Fox."

Fox lifted his head back up and grinned slightly at the human. He was very intrigued at the human that was sitting next to him. His body stature looked like a Cornerian, but the fact that he didn't have a bushy tail, ears, or a muzzle confused him. The only fur that he had was very dark and was only around his mouth, cheeks, and neck. He also had a weird, rounded protrusion just over his mouth, and dull green eyes, much like his own. The other one looked much different; it was a female for one, judging by her voice, stature, and appearance. She had very neatly braided light brown hair, and had no fur on her face whatsoever. Nathan noticed the fox's ears perk up and muscles relax slightly and continued.

"That's my friend Taylor," Nathan said, gesturing to the human behind him. She waved happily in acknowledgement. Fox smiled even more and even waved back at the human slightly. He eventually realized that these humans meant what they had previously stated; they were perfectly harmless.

"Why are you here?" Fox asked suddenly, luckily lacking any trace of hostility.

"Oh, uhh… Just looking around, I guess," Nathan hesitantly responded. He made another long glance at the vulpine, then something suddenly clicked in the back of his mind. The eyes, the fur, the tail; they all looked strikingly familiar.

"Hey, are you _the_ Fox? Fox McCloud?"

Fox eyes shot wide open and nodded. "How… How did you know?" he asked with his muzzle slightly hanging open in awe.

Nathan about exploded from fifty different emotions right then and there. _Holy shit… THE Fox McCloud… I'm sitting next to Fox fuckin' McCloud… Oh my god I can't believe–_

"Seriously, how'd you know?" Fox asked enthusiastically.

"Just a guess?" Nathan lied, shrugging his shoulders. Fox started feeling much more comfortable with the human and backed away from the wall slightly.

"How old are ya, Fox?" Taylor asked politely.

"I'm thirteen."

_Thirteen? Why the hell is he so young? Shouldn't he be in his late–_

Taylor squealed internally again, and was only a step away from breaking down and hugging the small humanized fox. Nathan rolled his eyes at her and continued.

"Anyway, Fox… why are _you_ here?"

Fox sighed slightly and looked away. "My dad said that you guys launched a rocket at us, but my brother thinks it was an accident…" He looked back up at the human longingly. "Do… you know what happened?"

_Brother?_

"A rocket?" Nathan echoed curiously, turning back to Taylor. "Why would we launch a missile at these guys?"

"God, man, I don't know. In all honesty, we wouldn't be that stupid to launch a rocket at another planet." Her eyes switched over to the small vulpine. "I think your brother might be right, Fox. We wouldn't launch a missile at you guys."

"Then… what was it?" Fox asked intently.

"Uh… Nate, you got an answer?"

Nathan shrugged and faced Fox. "What did this 'missile' do, bud?"

Fox's ears tilted down and his voice faltered a bit. "It… It blew up our capital city, and it… it…" his eyes started to water, so Nathan inched closer and wrapped his arm around him. He was surprisingly soft and warm, like a regular fox, just with a human stature. Fox didn't fight, much to the human's surprise; as a matter of fact the vulpine nuzzled closer to Nathan and rested his head on the human's shoulder. Taylor finally broke down and joined in on the hug for a few moments.

"Shh, it's ok," Nathan consoled the kit, petting his hair. "I understand… I'm sorry…"

"Wait," Fox started, wiping away tears. "Why are you sorry? I thought you said you didn't do it."

"Fox, obviously we killed someone you loved by accident. I don't know what we did, or why we did it, but we hurt someone, and we did not mean to do it. Me, personally, I hate seeing someone upset like this," Nathan explained, embracing the little fox tighter. "We'll sort things out, I'm sure."

"How?" Fox asked, sniffling faintly. "If you think you can try to talk to them, you're crazy. Dad is pissed, and so is everyone else except for my brother. They wouldn't listen to you."

"Not unless we made them," Nathan added suddenly, lifting Fox's head off his shoulder. Fox tilted his head and looked at Nathan with an eyebrow raised.

"What do you mean?"

Nathan exhaled quietly, then explained. "We can get them to listen to us, but we'll need your help."

Fox again gave the human a quizzical look. "How?"

"Do you agree with your brother, Fox?" Nathan asked calmly after waiting a few seconds. "With us? This was an accident, right?"

The vulpine momentarily hesitated, then slowly nodded. "Yes… I think so too… But, why me? Why do you need me?"

Nathan glanced over at the door where Taylor was standing, and gave a few gestures with his head and hands. She gave a huge smile and nodded in approval, then Nathan quickly turned back to the fox. "We can end this 'war' quickly, but the only way we can is if you come with us."

"With you?" Fox echoed disbelievingly and skeptically. "How will that help?"

"If we can get your father or someone else to realize that we have you, they will be willing to negotiate to get you back."

"What?! Are you insane?" Fox asked with eyes wide. "I'm not a hostage! I don't–"

"No, Fox, trust me," Nathan assured, patting the vulpine's back. "We won't actually take you hostage, we'll just hold on to you until your military lays off this attack. I'll take care of you, I swear."

Fox continued to stare at the bearded human, but eventually the ends of his muzzle curled upwards. "You're sure that this will work?"

"Absolutely," Nathan smiled. "You won't get hurt, and neither will any of your family or anyone else. It'll just be some simple negotiations. I promise."

"You promise?" Fox repeated.

"Of course," Nathan nodded with a smile. "Why would I lie to my childhood hero?"

"What?"

"Oh, uh, never mind… Let's get you out of here."

* * *

**General Pepper's Flagship**

Pepper chuckled faintly as he sat back in his chair and watched his giant holographic screen. The screen showed a large area around Husky Squadron's path, with five dots on the map labelled in a green glow. One by one, the red dots that were farther south disappeared for a brief moment, but were instantly replaced with a green dot. Sometimes even two at a time would transition colors right before the bloodhound's eyes.

Speaking of his eyes, after 45 minutes of staring at the screen watching the red dots change to green, his eyes started getting heavy. He needed to stay awake, but the monotonous beeping from the screen was very hypnotic and it became a struggle to stay conscious. Right as the bloodhound was about to slip away, a white paw was set on his shoulder and startled him, instantly jerking him awake.

"You alright sir?" Vince asked, trying to keep a straight face.

"Ah, I'm ok… just tired," Pepper chuckled, sitting up in the chair.

Vince laughed distantly and looked at the giant screen. "How's the assault coming?"

"No problems at all," Pepper said proudly. "Our fighters have reported very little resistance, and Husky Squadron landed at the capital a while ago."

Vince looked at the bloodhound's screen, and noticed the red dot with the words 'D.C.' was blinking periodically, but didn't completely change to green like the others had. "How long have they been there?"

"I'd say at most fifteen minutes," Pepper responded, then slowly rose out of his chair. "They have been there a while… maybe I should call them."

"It's the nation's capital, sir," Vince explained. "If they are back in an hour, I'll be amazed."

"Ah, you're right. They probably have guards swarming that place all the time. I'm assuming they didn't know about the preliminary attacks because you disabled their satellites, correct?"

"Of course," he hesitantly responded, grabbing at the back of his neck. _Thank god he doesn't know that I didn't disable them right away. They were more complex than I thought. How was I supposed to know–_

"Good work, Stazac," Pepper praised with a smile. "You can take five for now. I'll call you when I need you."

"Ok, general; take care!" Vince said cheerfully, then walked off of the main bridge.

Vince had a cheesy smile plastered on his maw as he walked down the ship. A bunch of the Cornerian scientists waved, smiled, or even said hi to the arctic fox as he trotted down the long hallways and towards his quarters. As standard issue in the CDF, all living quarters were practically identical. Each room was the same size, and had the same facilities and furniture as all the others. Vince snuck into his quarters, instantly stripped of his white uniform coat, and flopped backwards onto his bed.

_Man, it's hot in here,_ he thought, then sat back up and walked to the small thermostat in the corner of the room above a small bookcase. He punched the down arrow a few times, and within moments could feel the burst of cool air flowing around the room. He also took off his long sleeve shirt and threw on a black, sleeveless shirt from his wardrobe. As he threw the long shirt in the corner of the room, his wrist lit up in a pale blue glow.

"I swear to god Pepper if that's you I'm gonna– James?"

He stared in disbelief at the caller ID, and quickly accepted the call and put his transmitter up to his maw. "Hey James, what's up?"

"Finally, someone answers," James grumbled. "Just callin' to let you know that our first mission was successful. City's completely destroyed. We're heading out in about fifteen."

"Awesome," Vince applauded, sitting back down on his bed. "Any interference?"

"Quite a bit actually," James said somewhat disappointedly. "Dozens of ground soldiers were all over the place. Not terrible though; they weren't well trained."

"That's good to know."

James voice suddenly became much more distant as he started yelling to someone on his end. "Yo, what's in that container? …Supplies? …Yeah, no prob, just make sure to bring it back when you're done, m'kay? We're heading out soon, so don't take too long."

James quickly started talking again in a much louder tone. "Sorry 'bout that. Anyway, your hybrid vest material saved my life. One of their bullets hit me in the chest, but it didn't even go a quarter inch in."

Vince smiled and threw his open paw in the air in success. "I knew it would work!"

"For me it worked, but we did suffer a few casualties."

"Shit… How many?"

"At least six… We're still looking though, so that number isn't final."

"Well, let's hope that number doesn't go any higher," the white vulpine stated, rubbing his white furred arms.

"We can only hope, Vinny… I'm actually on the Great Fox now, and… ngh, hold on a sec Vince, door's stuck."

**# Great Fox #**

James put his arm down and forced open the door to his quarters with a few faint profanities thrown in as he did so. He exhaled loudly, then picked his arm back up to his maw. "That's better. Remind me when we get back to Corneria that the Great Fox's doors need repairs."

"Why, they jamming up?" Vince asked.

"Sometimes, not all the time though. I swear it's only my door," James grumbled, pawing the door, looking for possible issues.

"You sure it's just yours?"

"Fox's room is right across mine, so I can check his real quick."

James shut his door with a bit more force, then walked across the narrow hall to Fox's quarters. He easily and effortlessly slid the kit's door open, with no problems or broken pieces.

"Yeah, Fox's door opened up right away," James said, then looked around the empty room with an eyebrow raised.

_Empty?_

"Strange… anyone else's?" Vince asked, but James didn't hear. He was busy looking around the small bedroom for the teenage kit.

"You still there James?" Vince called out distantly after the orange vulpine went silent for a few seconds.

"Yeah, I'm here," James said, unfocused on his conversation. "Fox isn't though. Where'd he go?"

"Probably grabbing something to eat," Vince suggested. James did not need to be told twice as he instantly bolted out of the bedroom and towards the Great Fox's mess hall. It occupied most of the Great Fox's third floor, which made it the second largest room in the dreadnaught warship, second only to the engine and electrical room. He got there in record time, and looked at the dozens of Cornerian soldiers on their lunch break. There might have been thirty Cornerians in there, but Fox was not one of them. James walked up to a large gray feline and spoke up.

"Yo, Wallace, you seen Fox anywhere?"

The feline finished his bite of his sandwich and shrugged. "I haven't seen him. If he's not in his quarters, and not here, he might be on the bridge. He was up there a while ago I think."

"Oh, good idea, thanks!" James patted the feline's back, then again turned around and shot out into the hall. As he was swiftly walking to the bridge, he spoke to the arctic fox that was still on his line.

"Nope, not there either. Might be on the bridge."

"Huh," Vince grunted in curiosity, then chuckled faintly. "Probably just curious as always."

"Got that right," James agreed. "Gonna get himself into trouble the way he is sometimes…"

"Don't be too hard on him, buddy," Vince laughed, then his curiosity quickly took hold. "Also, James, why'd you bring him along anyway? Is it because he wanted to?"

"No, _I_ wanted him to."

"Why? Don't you think you're putting him in danger?"

James sighed as he continued down the hall. "I couldn't leave him back on Corneria with no one to take care of him. Usually Vixy or Wolf takes care of him when I get sent on missions."

"And Wolf's with the Huskies and Vixy's… well…" Vince stopped himself as he noticed he was taking the conversation on the wrong road. "I'm sorry James, I didn't mean to bring that up again."

"No, you're alright Vinny," James said, wiping away a tear. "I miss her just as much as the next guy, believe me. I miss her to death to be honest. But, I realized that I can't stick around the past because that jeopardizes the mission right now. As much as it pains me to say it, I gotta put that event behind me. I have to look towards the future."

"For Fox?" Vince suddenly blurted out, taking the words right out of the orange vulpine's muzzle.

"For Fox," James repeated, a slight smile being creased across his muzzle. He finally walked up and unlocked the bridge's main doors, then stepped inside the bright white plated room. Just like Fox's room, it was completely empty. The confusion quickly transitioned to pure fear and paranoia.

"Vince," James said, his breathing intensifying. "I- I can't find him."

"He's not on the bridg–"

"No," James' cracking and rising voice quickly responded. "I don't know where he is. I can't…" His rapidly increasing breaths caused him to falter a bit and fall onto one knee.

"James, calm down, you'll find him. He's gotta be on the ship somewhere."

"No, Vince, he's not," James blurted out, choking back his emotions.

"Hold on a sec," Vince attempted to calm him down. "Maybe he left you a note somewhere in his room. No telling where he went."

James quickly busted out of the bridge and within moments was back at the kit's room. He started tossing small things around, causing quite a bit of noise. The noise attracted a few soldiers from the adjacent rooms, one of them being the large gray feline Wallace.

"Still haven't found him?" he questioned, stepping into the small bedroom. James shook his head and sat on the bed.

"I- I don't know where he is. He's not here; not on the bridge; not in–"

"What's this?" Wallace asked, pulling a piece of paper off of behind the door. He looked at it for a few moments with a confused look, but had it ripped out of his paws by the orange vulpine. He recognized ten distinct numbers on the top, but underneath it looked like a mess of scribbled calculus equations.

"Whose number is that long?" the feline questioned, tilting the paper towards him. James was still preoccupied on the scribbles below it.

"What is this, though?" James poked at the scribbles. "That some kind of code? Computer coding?"

Wallace gingerly stole the note from his paws, then squinted and brought the paper close to his short muzzle. "Computers use letters and numbers too. This is… gah, I don't know what this is."

James stole the paper back and studied it curiously. He raised an eyebrow as the smudge close to the end of the paper looked familiar to him. His heart skipped a beat once he realized where he'd seen it before. He suddenly jerked his arm forward, punched a few buttons on his transmitter, and held the screen at the unknown words. Slowly, the scribbles on the screen began to pixelate and transform into comprehensible letters for the Cornerians.

Wallace snapped his fingers as the translator continued working. "Oh so it's– …oh fuck."

**_Will you listen to us now? –The Humans_**


	11. A Flight of Stairs Too Far

_I can't escape this hell  
So many times I've tried  
But I'm still caged inside  
Somebody get me through this nightmare  
I can't control myself_

_So what if you can see the darkest side of me  
No one will ever change this animal I have become  
Help me believe, it's not the real me  
Somebody help me tame this animal_

_*Animal I Have Become – Three Days Grace*_

* * *

**Husky Destroyer**

"Ah, there they are," Wolf stated as the Husky's Arwings quickly zoomed up to the Destroyer and slipped into the main hangar. Once the squadron was safely secured, he shot out of the bridge and down to the first level where the main hangar was. Instead of walking into a cheerful scene of the huskies celebrating over their successful attack, he walked into a scene of two huskies trying to hold back another, with many of them yelling, shouting, and attempting to throw paws. One of them had a paw over his nose as he kept his distance on the skirmish. Wolf's maw fell to the cold floor.

"Sheila, calm down!" the dark copper husky Kassian commanded, trying to restrain her, but the cinnamon husky was having none of it.

Sharp growled and pushed Sheila away from himself. "You're the one that didn't follow orders! You should be the one in the body bag!"

"Fuck you!" Sheila snarled, pushing the larger husky back. Garrison came out and grabbed at her arm.

"Sheila, what's gotten into you?" he questioned, trying to hold her back. Sheila ripped her arm free and pushed the pure white husky backwards. She attempted to throw a punch at Sharp, but the light gray husky MacKinnon grabbed her wrist before it could connect.

"Let go of me!" she barked, but he continued to fight with her to contain her rage.

"Sheila!" Wolf shouted, which caused the female husky to jerk her head around and swiftly change her emotions from blind fury to pure sorrow and regret.

"Wolf!" Sheila cried, rushing over to the lupine and dropping down at his feet, putting her face in his chest. She instantly started crying audibly, which made Wolf give a nasty scowl to the other huskies.

"What did you do to her?" he growled, baring his teeth.

"_We_ didn't do a god damn thing," Sharp scoffed. "Ask _that one_ what _she_ did."

"Sheila?" Wolf called out softly in a questioning tone, tilting his head toward her. "What happened?"

Sheila choked back a sob as she reached into her pocket and pulled out two sleek gold pendants. As she did so, she fell all the way down to the floor in grief.

_Specialist Scott Gallagher – Husky 6  
S-ent First Cl- Patrick Richa- Hus- 3_

Richardson's pendant was rendered somewhat incomprehensible as a large stain of red covered the lettering. He crouched down and embraced the light copper husky as he let the badges fall from his paw. He attempted to console her to the best of his abilities, but she suddenly broke up and shouted across the room.

"It was not my fault!" she barked in a cracking voice, her fur being stained by tears. "It was _its_ fault!"

"It was, yes, but not the other one's!" Sharp growled with a disapproving scowl. "You killed the wrong human!"

"I shot the bastard that started this!" Sheila snarled.

"I know! _That's the damn problem, Spitz!_"

"That asshole had it coming!"

"Good lord Sheila!" Sharp growled loudly. "You killed our only option for answers! You murdered our only solution in cold blood!"

"_My ass_ it was the only one," Sheila retorted. "You can find another one of those apes."

"What if we can't? Hmm?" Sharp questioned impatiently. "What if he _was_ the only one that knew?"

"So? Why are you so concerned about finding answers all of a sudden?"

"Well, unlike some people, I don't want to be here!" Sharp shouted. "I've got my fiancée at home and I'm here fighting a war that, in all honesty, can be won without my help! I don't want to risk my life when my family is back at home!"

"A lot of people back home don't have any families anymore, Alex!" she snapped. "We're here to glass this damn planet and avenge our families back home!"

Wolf tried to calm her down again, but she suddenly turned around with an enraged fire in her eyes.

"And you! You thought this was an accident? You thought that it was a fucked up satellite? Are you fuckin' _stupid_?!"

"Sheila?" Wolf called out softly in disbelief at the husky's intense swing of emotions. He had never seen her so livid and emotional before. It was uncharacteristic of her to be so irate and inconsolable.

"Don't _Sheila_ me," she barked sourly, glaring at the lupine's violet eyes. "You can't tell me this was a fuckin' accident now! They just murdered my teammates, and countless numbers of _our_ other soldiers! They are fighting back!"

"Yeah, cause they were defending themselves!" Wolf shot back. "Of course they're gonna start killing us because we're attacking them for no reason!"

"Can you even hear yourself?" Sheila impulsively questioned.

"Can you?" he fired right back. "Do you realize the only reason why they are shooting at us is because we are instigating them? Did you even hear me when I was explaining this to James?"

As soon as he mentioned the vulpine's name, she instantly donned a nasty scowl and lowered her voice as deep as it could go. "Don't you even bring that asshole into this!"

"What?" Wolf half-shouted. "That's my damn father you're degrading, Sheila!"

"After what he did to you I'm amazed you still call him your father!" she spat nastily, stunning the lupine. His eyes nearly bulged out of his skull, his jaw unhinged, and his arms and tail fell limp. He could only stare at her with a blank stare; disbelieving what she had just announced.

"Sheila…" Wolf said pitifully, not breaking a whisper. "How… could you say that?"

"And how could you stand there and tell me… tell _us_… that what they did to us was an accident? You're trying to defend them? You're choosing _their_ lives over _ours_? Even after what they're doing to us now, you're _still_ siding with them?"

Wolf tried to speak up, but he was still fighting his sudden emotional spiral that his vocal chords would not work. Sheila started walking away from him backwards, sniffling as she spoke up again.

"James was right," she started, fighting back a sob. "You really are a heartless son of a bitch."

That was the final nail in the coffin for Wolf. His heart instantly split in two.

Sheila gave him another dirty look, then stormed out of the hangars and towards the living quarters. Wolf dropped his head low, then let a soft whimper escape him as he padded back to the door he had entered in and headed back towards the bridge. He was absolutely devastated. His ears were folded over, his tail was tucked between his legs, and he walked slowly down the hall with slouched shoulders and dragging heels.

_'You're seriously gonna try to defend them while they plot to do the same damn thing again?'_ James' faint, distant voice reverberated in the lupine's mind. He faltered and leaned up against the wall, trying to shake the thoughts.

"They aren't right," he muttered under his breath as he continued walking.

_'Even if it was an accident, as you say, this attack is unforgivable,'_ Pepper's words echoed in his skull, causing Wolf to snarl quietly and violently shake his head.

"They aren't right," he repeated louder and with more emphasis. He tried to stand straight up again and continue walking, but the huge nail came back and bit him hard.

_'You really are a heartless son of a bitch.'_

Wolf faltered down to both knees, then quickly fell all the way down to all fours. As his breathing intensified as he made large gasps for air, his wrist transmitter started vibrating.

Wolf growled at the caller ID. "Screw you James. I ain't listening to your shit about how many innocent people you murdered," he spat, pressing ignore on his wrist. He stood back up after a brief moment, but once again James was back on his wrist.

"I told you McCloud, I don't wanna listen to you." As he once again ignored James' call, he sat back down on the metal floor and cupped his head in his paws.

This whole situation was ruining his life. He wanted nothing more to do with James, and he wondered if he still even had his companion anymore. He had the height of his life set before him, but it all crashed down faster than that failed human satellite.

Why wouldn't they listen? Were they _still_ running on blind rage? Did they not have one ounce of rationality in them at all? Better yet, why was he the only one thinking rational thoughts? It seemed as though he was the only one that didn't have an unquenchable bloodlust, and actually thought about the situation without the first choice being to glass the planet. He had moral and reasonable thoughts that the rest of them lacked. They were all hell bent on revenge, while he still had a sense of rationality.

Both James and Sheila had called him heartless. Yet, he was the only one that had one.

"They aren't right."

As Wolf felt his wrist vibrating again, he looked back at the screen, but once he saw an orange vulpine's face he instantly tore off the transmitter and threw it up against the wall. It smashed up against the light silver wall and fell to the ground in pieces.

"Fuck it," he growled loudly, then picked himself up and stormed back into the hangars. There were only two huskies left in the room, those being Kassian and Garrison. Wolf walked up to the Arwing locking grid, then disengaged one of the fighters and primed it for takeoff.

"Wolf?!" Garrison shouted, running up to him before he could jump into the fighter. "What the hell are you–"

He wasn't able to finish as Wolf quickly dropped the pure white husky with a wild right hook. As his unconscious body fell to the cold floor, Kassian recoiled, then tried his own method to stop the lupine, and this time he had a better chance than the previous husky.

Kassian ducked under Wolf's first swing, and elbowed the lupine in the stomach. As Wolf faltered, he swiftly spun around and took the dark copper husky's legs out from under him. Kassian's body impacted the floor with a loud, echoing thud, giving Wolf the perfect opportunity to leap into the Arwing, and within seconds was shooting out of the hangar and towards the planet.

"Kass! Who was that?" Sharp shouted over the loud boom that resounded from the Arwing. Kassian grunted as the larger husky helped him to his feet, then growled at the streaking fighter jet.

"Wolf just jacked G's Arwing," he said bitterly, then crouched down to the unconscious husky. "Help me get him to the med bay. Wolf fucked him over pretty bad."

Sharp nodded and threw one of Garrison's arms over his shoulder. As the two helped the white husky to the medical rooms, they came across the emotional mess that was the cinnamon copper husky Sheila. She was crying into her arms as she sat on the floor, but once she noticed the unconscious husky she quickly bolted up and checked on him.

"What happened?" she said shakily because of her tears.

"Your boyfriend happened," Sharp said angrily, then disappeared into the infirmary with the husky. Sheila stood in the doorway with her jaw hanging open. She was in complete and total shock at what the lupine did to her teammate.

Wolf had changed. He wasn't the happy, caring person that she had come to know and love anymore. But yet, neither was she. She wasn't the same either. She had changed as well, almost as bad as Wolf had. She didn't feel sorry for him one bit, however she did understand why he was acting the way he had. He had his crazy beliefs, and nobody would back him up on it.

And that was the way it should have been.

Sheila shook her head faintly as her thoughts took full hold. Why was Wolf so set in his opinions? He couldn't be right… could he? No. He was wrong… so, so wrong. The humans had fought back. They just killed two of her squadron members; two of her family members. They were cold-blooded, savage, murdering aliens, and they had just taken it way too many steps too far. They opened the door by launching the missile, and now they are walking through the wide open door by killing whoever got in their way.

And Wolf was trying to defend the humans? After what he had gone through as of yet, he was still sticking up for them? She was definitely missing something. Wolf knew something that she didn't… and she needed to figure it out.

She lifted her transmitter up to her muzzle, but put it back down just as fast. "He won't listen to me," she whispered to herself, walking through the hallway and down to her quarters. "Not after what I just did to him. He's probably livid with me. I… I just…"

Sheila sighed as she rested her copper head up against her door. She felt a cold tear roll down her face again as a terrible thought flashed across her mind. "I just ruined my relationship with him. I…"

She slowly opened the door to her quarters and sat on her bedside, then continued to scold herself by practically screaming at herself. "Wolf… I'm… I'm so sorry… Damn it, I love you to death Wolf! Why did I do it?! Why am I so heartless?!"

As Sheila burst into tears yet again, another sudden realization dawned on her. Her bloodshot and tear-filled eyes shot wide open as her voice barely cracked a whisper.

"Wolf… I… I was wrong… I was so wrong…"

* * *

**Rockford, Illinois**

"You holding out alright back there bud?" Nathan asked over the roar of the wind in the silver car's window. Taylor was driving a good fifteen miles an hour over the sixty-five speed limit, rushing from the now desolate downtown Chicago and speeding towards Nathan's apartment in suburban Rockford; almost two hours away. That was their only safe haven now with the kidnapped fox in their backseat.

"I'm alright," Fox said with his transmitter up to his muzzle. "I'm trying to call my brother and let him know what's going on."

"Just him?" Nathan quickly questioned. "No one else?"

"Yup," Fox responded, then threw his arm down. "I can't seem to get a hold of him though."

"You sure your transmitters' calls work on our planet?"

"I would think so. Uncle Vince said he would use your satellite grids to broadcast our calls," Fox explained, then grinned once he saw Nathan's confused face. "Just for now of course," he added.

"So that's why our phones didn't get any service, Tay," Nathan said, turning back to the woman driver. "They hacked into us and disabled our towers."

Taylor grunted as she shifted lanes. "They musta thought way ahead for this," she stated.

"Exactly."

Fox growled again and threw his arm down in frustration. "Come on, pick up already."

"Who is your brother anyway, Fox?" Nathan asked, turning around to face the kit.

"Wolf," he answered, not looking up from his wrist.

_Whatinthefuckingfuck?_

"And he isn't fighting at all?" Nathan quickly added, disregarding the inadvertent bomb Fox dropped on him.

"He doesn't want to. He absolutely refused."

Nathan smiled. "If you can get a hold of him, tell him I said thank you."

Fox's ears perked up as he gave the human a friendly grin and continued to fiddle with the machine. He picked out one of the chips, dusted it off, then placed it back in in a heartbeat. After the system finished rebooting, he tried making another call, but still with the same outcome as before. Fox gave up as he let out an annoyed groan and slouched back in his seat.

"Don't worry Fox," Nathan assured. "We'll find him. I'm sure."

"No, Nathan, you don't understand," Fox butted in, jerking his head back up to make eye contact. "If my dad tells Wolf about what happened to me first, then he's gonna have a pretty good reason to fight, and he's one hell of a fighter."

"Ngh, you're right," Nathan grumbled, turning back around. He suddenly had an idea come to mind and turned back to the vulpine.

"I bet I can do some computer stuff to get a hold of him. Just wait till we get back to my place."

"Really?" Fox asked excitedly. "Awesome. How far away?"

Taylor suddenly jerked off of the highway and drove down an off ramp joining up to some city streets. "Just a few more minutes now," she explained, turning down a side street. A few minutes passed in silence as the truck sped down city streets. What bugged her was that they were completely deserted. Not a single soul was on the streets. They must've all left or were hunkering down and hoping that a stray shot wouldn't kill them.

Taylor pulled up to a medium sized apartment complex and parked in the nearest open spot, then as soon as she turned off the car the two human occupants jumped out. Nathan walked over to the five foot tall fox and held out his arms.

"Here, I got ya."

Fox nodded and allowed the human to scoop him up out of the car and carry him like a small child. Fox wrapped his soft, fur covered arm around Nathan's neck as the human shifted the awkward humanized vulpine frame in his arms. He walked up a small set of stairs and up to a door with the numbers '43' drilled into it, then let Taylor unlock the door and allow Nathan step into his decently sized apartment. Luckily, he had some spare time before he had to help Taylor move, so he used it to clean up his apartment somewhat. It wasn't the cleanest place, but the bright side was that there wasn't food littered everywhere. It had an L shaped couch in the corner, facing the other wall that had a large TV propped up against it. The kitchen was practically connected to the main room, only being separated by a granite countertop. Nathan walked the vulpine to the couch and gently set him on it. Fox instantly relaxed as he felt the cool leather on his fur and tail.

"Make yourself at home, Fox," Nathan announced. "I'm gonna go grab my gear from the car and I'll be in in a sec."

Nathan popped out of the door and rushed up to the car. He pulled out his stolen enemy uniforms, along with the stolen rifles, and a backpack with a few supplies he had gathered from the trunk of the vehicle. He trotted back up the stairs with his hands full, and managed to open the door with a bit of difficulty in doing so. He threw the uniforms and rifles on the edge of the couch, put the backpack on the ground beside it, then flopped down on the long couch next to the vulpine.

"You seriously kept the rifles?" Taylor asked with a smirk. "Don't you have your own?"

"Yes… and now I have two more," Nathan said with a grin. Taylor faintly shook her head, then walked up to the TV and turned it on.

"Maybe they've got some news on this," Taylor wished, waiting for the screen to pop up.

"Well, while you're waiting on that," Nathan announced, standing up off the couch and walking to a closet on the other side of the room. He pulled out an old set of crutches, adjusted them to the tod's height, and then handed them to the vulpine. Fox stared at the light metal crutches confusedly.

"What are these?"

"They're crutches," Nathan explained. "You can use them since your leg is broken and all."

"Cool," Fox said, pawing the crutches. Nathan chuckled and gestured at the fox.

"Follow me bud. I'll see what I can do to get your brother."

Fox nodded and limped on the crutches as he followed the human through a short hallway and into a medium sized bedroom. Nathan sat down at the desk, while Fox leaned up against the chair behind him. Nathan then pulled off his stolen wrist transmitter and fiddled with a few of the settings.

"Alright, let's see what I can't do here…" he said out loud.

"Vué?" Fox said in a questioning tone. Nathan cocked a head at him, but realized that his translator must've deactivated accidentally. To avoid that happening again, he gently grabbed the vulpine's wrist, then activated his translator on his device.

"Better?"

"Much."

Nathan chuckled then spun around to the computer screen. "Oh, Fox, can you put your arm down here for a sec?"

Fox obliged by putting his furred arm on the desk. Nathan then poked at the vulpine's transmitter, then was able to pull up a few numbers on his screen. Nathan hesitantly copied those numbers down from Fox's wrist and onto his desktop computer. After fiddling with the new information he was given, he sank back down in the seat.

"Ngh, vienne sur tu morceau de merde," Nathan grumbled to himself.

"Wait, Nathan," Fox piped up, then stole his arm back as he scanned through some information. He smiled as he found what he was looking for. "Put this in," he commanded, throwing his wrist back into Nathan's face. Nathan did the same thing with that information, then an undetailed map suddenly popped up on his screen with a red dot.

"Ahh, tracking," Nathan cooed with a smile. "Nice work Fo– wait... what was that number you put in?"

"It's a code for a chip that the CDF has every pilot wear on them at all times."

"Oh, so for constant surveillance?"

"Yeah," Fox responded, rubbing his orange arms. "I don't have it since I'm not a pilot… yet."

"Ahh, looking into being a pilot, eh?" Nathan smiled. "It's hard work, but it's worth it in the end; believe me."

"My dad wants me to be a pilot," Fox said with his own smile. "He wants me to inherit the family business when I'm old enough."

_And you'll do a damn good job at it, _Nathan thought with a smile.

"But I don't think I'll do it," Fox added, tilting his ears backwards. "I want to do what Uncle Vince does, with all the science and research and stuff. That's really cool."

Nathan smiled and patted the vulpine's shoulder. "You do whatever you want, Fox. My dad wanted me to go into business management like himself, but I always wanted to get involved with the military; which I ended up doing."

"You're in the military?" Fox asked with eyes wide.

"Sure am. Was with the U.S. Special Forces for a few years. You think I was lying when I said I would protect you?" Nathan asked with a grin.

"You do make a point."

Nathan turned back and scanned around the map that popped up on his screen. After a few moments, he suddenly shot up, grabbed his stolen wrist transmitter, and sped over to his closet. He instantly crouched down to the server-like device in the corner and started messing with the machine.

"What are you doing?" Fox asked in awe.

"Hacking into anything nearby," Nathan's muffled voice responded, completely unfocused on his conversation.

"What is that?"

"My special toy," Nathan said proudly. "Built it myself. Can do a bunch of different things."

After a brief minute or two, he slipped back into his office chair and started typing furiously. Three different coded terms popped up, and Nathan pointed to them and turned to Fox.

"Recognize these?"

Fox leaned over and squinted at the screen, then his eyes shot wide open. "Huh. First one is a G-diffuser system, second one is a transmissions line, and the third one is… um…"

"Transmissions lines?" Nathan interrupted. "Just what I hoped!"

"Why? What are you doing with them?"

Nathan smiled and turned the volume up on his monitor. He clicked on the second term, then the sound of distant radio static filled the room.

"Your bro is in an aircraft. I just tapped us into his radio lines. Say something," Nathan commanded, handing him a black headset. Fox struggled with the device because of his floppy vulpine ears, but managed to expertly balance the headset on top of his head. He lowered the mic attachment and spoke.

"Wolf? You there?"

"FOX?!" Wolf shouted, distorting the radio quality. "How the fu… ront door are you in my ship?!"

"I'll explain later. Just… get to where I am quickly," Fox responded swiftly.

"What, the Great Fox? That's where I was headed bud–"

"No, I'm not there. I'm… what? Ninety miles west of that."

"WHY ARE YOU NOT ON THE SHIP?!" Wolf blared in a state of panic.

"Wolf, listen," Fox pleaded "Just get to my coordinates and I'll tell you then. Hurry!"

"Are you in trouble?" Wolf quickly asked.

"Not even close," Fox smiled. "I just need you here. And please; don't tell dad."

"Why don't you want me to tell him?"

"Just trust me," Fox assured. "Get here as quick as you can, and I'll fill you in then."

"Okay, I'll be there soon. See you there runt."

Nathan chuckled as Fox put down the headset. "You sure he won't flip out once he sees you with us?" Nathan asked skeptically. Fox smiled and put a paw on Nathan's shoulder.

"Believe me, he won't lay a paw on you as long as I say so."

"Thank you," Nathan smiled, then jerked his head towards the door. "You hungry Fox?"

Fox smiled a toothy smile and nodded. "Starving."

* * *

**General Pepper's Flagship**

Pepper smiled at his large holographic screen. His entire sector that he had mapped out for the huskies was completely green. No exceptions.

However, James' group was slow on the up taking. Their one spot they had was still blinking periodically. Granted, that was a very large city, and they had significantly less ground troops than the eastern seaboard had in combat, but still, it was James McCloud. He could've wiped the floor with anything he saw in a million different ways in a heartbeat. It wasn't characteristic of him to stick around longer than he needed to, especially with the enemy they were up against.

Almost as if on cue, the bloodhound's radio transmissions started ringing with the aforementioned vulpine on the caller ID. Pepper smiled and answered the call.

"Hey James, how was your–"

"FOX IS GONE!" James screeched, deafening the bloodhound.

"What?! How?!"

"Those fucking aliens!" James retorted with a faltering voice. "The damn humans snuck aboard and took him! They kidnapped my kit!"

"Have you tried calling him?" Pepper asked on impulse.

Pepper heard the faint, distant sound of a paw coming into contact with forehead through the other line. "I'm so fuckin' stupid. Hold on Pep, I'll call you back."

**# Rockford, Illinois #**

Fox felt his vibrating wrist as he sat back down on the couch in the main room with a plate of freshly prepared food, courtesy of the bearded human still in the kitchen. He made a glance to the screen, then gasped loudly as he noticed it was his father on the other end trying to establish a connection.

"Nate!" Fox shouted, shaking his wrist. "Nate it's him! It's my dad!"

Nathan shot out from the kitchen and rushed up to him. "Don't answer it!"

"No duh I'm not gonna answer it," Fox retorted, setting the plate aside. "It's just… I've never ignored my dad like this. I feel like I'm letting him down."

Nathan sat down and wrapped his arm around him. "It'll be alright. Once your brother gets here we can sort things out. It's our only chance."

Fox nodded slowly and slipped the transmitter off of his wrist. He set it on the couch next to him as it continued to ring. He kept making glances to it, then back to Nathan, almost implying he needed to answer it.

"I know Fox. I understand," Nathan assured, embracing the vulpine gently. Fox relaxed a bit as he laid his muzzle on the human's shoulder. As soon as the transmitter stopped ringing, he let out a whimper and buried himself into the human's warm grasp.

Nathan instantly realized his experiment was tearing the little anthro fox kid's heart in half. He could feel the uncertainty and sadness stemming from the vulpine, but it was what he had to do. If he wanted his own race to survive, he needed to do anything and everything in his power to do so.

Granted, taking the kit wasn't his first option at all. The last thing he wanted to do was try and drag a kid into the skirmish; an alien one at that. He knew in his mind that if he had a kid, and another alien race stole him or her, he'd be pretty livid also. He'd worry nonstop until he sought that his kid was safe. That must've been how Fox's father was feeling. But, it was what he had to do. Fox was his only hope of surviving and ending the ongoing assault by the humanized animal alien race.

All he hoped was that the plan in his head would work.

**# Great Fox #**

"Come on kit, pick up the damn call," James growled, practically smashing the transmitter up against his face. He was startled as a blue feathered wing was suddenly set on his shoulder.

"You alright James?" Riley asked, ruffling his feathers. James turned his head and stared at the avian with bloodshot eyes and a concerned stare, shaking his head in negativity.

"Fox… he's… he's been kidnapped."

"What?" Riley squawked. James instantly hushed him as he smothered the device into his fur. He was silent for a few seconds, then whimpered faintly as his arm fell limply to his side. He sat down on Fox's bed and folded over, beginning to sniffle.

Riley held up his own transmitter to his beak on an impulsive idea. "Wes? We need a search party of five ready in five minutes… Yes, me and James too… I'll tell you why when we get down there…"

James lifted his tear stained face out of his arms as Riley ended his call. He hesitated, but let a small smile escape his maw as he shot up and embraced the avian.

"You're the best," he chuckled faintly, patting Riley's back. Riley staggered backwards a bit but returned the gesture.

"We'll find him James…" Riley assured, tightening his grip on the vulpine. "We'll find him."

**#####**

Riley's sudden search party organization turned out to be the best idea he'd had in a long time. His party consisted of himself, James, Wes, the feline Wallace, and a silver female vulpine by the name of Sarah Bowman.

Sarah was a beautiful, small, young vixen. She had long, bouncy curls running all around her ears, and her stature made her seem like a twenty-one year old; disregarding her actual age of course. She was only sixteen, which was extremely young to be in combat, but with the sudden departure for war, they did not restrict anyone from seeking revenge. At about five foot four and one hundred and ten pounds, she was easily the smallest soldier, but not the least competitive. The vixen was extremely, almost excessively aggressive during training, but off-duty she was always smiling and would essentially drop everything to help a fellow soldier. This was the case in this current moment, as she was the first one to say she wanted to aid in the search and rescue.

James walked into the room with the newly formed rescue party with his maw partially buried in his transmitter, talking to one of the Cornerian scientists. "You said that you can track him? How?"

"I can use the humans' satellites to put a marker down on him. I just need more information," the scientist said with the faint sound of typing in the background of the call.

"Alright, what do you need Arti?" James asked patiently.

"Do you know Fox's transmitter's serial number or authorization code?" the blue jay Arthur asked.

"Um… yeah," James responded, trying to jog his memory. "285-C-0-94," he read off slowly, trying to catch himself if he made a mistake at all.

James heard the scientist typing in the background as he read the letters and numbers off slowly. The blue jay on the other end grunted in approval, then sent a set of coordinates to his transmitter only a few moments later. "That should be exact. Good luck out there!"

"Oh, believe me," James said with a cold growl. "I'm not the one that needs luck."

"True that," Arthur chuckled. "Take care James."

The vulpine put down his wrist, then turned around to the group. He pushed a button on his transmitter, then sent the same coordinates the blue jay had sent to each of the group members.

"There's where he is. We've got clearance to fly in fifteen minutes, and by the looks of it we'll get there in another half."

"What's the plan, Mr. McCloud?" Sarah asked very politely, making James smile slightly.

"Alright, Wes, Sarah, and I will rush in, while Riley and Wallace will secure a perimeter in the air so they don't escape. All good?"

Everyone nodded in agreement, but James wasn't done yet. He sighed as he looked away for a brief moment, then once he focused back, he cracked his knuckles loudly.

"We're getting him back, and we'll make these kidnapping aliens experience the hell they put us through."


	12. Football

**A/N: I'm back again! For those of you wondering how I get updates out every week, I put my strategy on my profile. I did some minor changes to it, but I'm sure you guys can find it. **

**Anyway, before you read, I just wanna say that if there is any chapter up to this point that I want you guys to review more, it's this one. I don't care if you're a guest or not; I want to know what you think of this chapter in particular. Any feedback at all; please let me know. I would really appreciate it. Why?**

**...You'll see... Take care you guys!**

* * *

**Rockford, Illinois**

Nathan was practically asleep on his couch when a loud jet engine overhead rattled the windows and jerked him out of his impending sleep. He instantly recognized that sound as the same noise as the engines of the jets that attacked Chicago. Nathan tensed up immediately, but Fox shot up off the couch and hopped up to the front window. As he gingerly peeled back the curtains slightly, he gasped and yanked them shut.

"That's not Wolf's Arwing!"

Nathan instantly bolted up, grabbed his ACR that was propped up against the wall near the TV, then held up the weapon to its proper stance as he pointed it at the door.

Fox was able to position himself so he could see the plane without being noticed from the outside. He wasn't wrong; it was not a Star Fox generation Arwing that Wolf or his father used. It was the next step lower, which was what the high ranking Cornerian Army officers used. He scanned the fighter, and noticed a small insignia on the outside of the right G-diffuser. It looked like a small white husky head.

"The Huskies? I thought they were on the east," Fox murmured, continuing to watch for a familiar figure to leave the Arwing, and hoping that it wasn't who he thought it was.

He practically exploded from excitement when he saw a large gray wolf exit the fighter.

"Wolf!" Fox cried, unlocking the door and hobbling out onto the small balcony overlooking the parking lot the lupine had touched down on. Wolf took a second to process his surroundings, but once he realized the teenage kit was standing in the doorway of a human house he pulled out a small sub-machine gun and bolting up the stairs up to the vulpine.

"Fox! Thank god you're alright!" Wolf said, visibly relieved as he embraced the smaller frame tightly, doing his best not to chop Fox's crutches from his paws. "Where are they?" he questioned as he broke his hold on the kit and held his weapon up in the recently shut doorway.

"No, Wolf, stop!" Fox pleaded, pushing the weapon down. "Hold on a second, let me explain!"

"Explain how you were taken hostage?" Wolf shot back, prying the gun from the vulpine's paws.

"That's not what happened," Fox retorted. "Just let me explain, please."

"Alright," Wolf sighed, flopping his arms down. "What?"

Fox cracked the door slightly and stuck the tip of his muzzle through the door. "It's him Nate, don't shoot."

"Nate?" Wolf echoed questioningly with an eyebrow raised.

Fox smiled slightly and nudged the lupine's backside with his crutch, then practically pushed him into the room and quickly shut the door behind their tails. Wolf hesitantly looked around the small room, but once he saw a human figure slowly lowering a medium-sized rifle he instantly raised up his sub-machine gun and pointed it at the person. He didn't fire, but continued to stare into the human's green eyes. Wolf probably could have paralyzed the human in fear if he wasn't an army veteran.

"Wolf, don't!" Fox shouted, chopping at the gun with his crutch. "He's not gonna hurt you!"

Wolf disregarded the vulpine's pleas as he kept his weapon trained on the human. Nathan noticed his death stare and quickly spoke up.

"Woah, buddy, chill," Nathan assured, placing the ACR on the floor and holding up his empty hands. "I'm not gonna shoot."

Wolf made a faint glance to the small fox with an eyebrow raised, still with the weapon pointed at the human. Fox giggled slightly and spoke up.

"Wolf, this is Nathan Fox. He helped me find you."

"He also kidnapped you," Wolf added, making another angry glance to the already intimidated human. "Why should I trust him?"

"Because you're still alive," Nathan responded calmly. "If I wasn't to be trusted, I'd have killed you as soon as you stepped foot in my home."

Wolf made another growl at him, but Nathan inched closer and gingerly outstretched his hand. "I'm not hostile. I only want to help."

Wolf hesitated, but eventually lowered his weapon enough to be able to shake the human's hand. "Name's Wolf O'Donnell. Nathan, right?"

"Yeah," Nathan responded, letting go of the lupine's paw. "You're his brother?" he asked, nodding his head in the direction of the vulpine.

"Metaphorically, yes," he responded with a grin. "Not exactly blood relation, but might as well be."

_Thank Lord Jesus, _Nathan thought with a faint smirk, then gestured to the couch. "Go ahead and take a seat. We've got some things to discuss."

Wolf obliged by setting his weapon on the coffee table and hopping backwards on the large couch. Fox instantly bolted over and sat next to him, which made Wolf chuckle softly and run his paw through the kit's fur.

_That is so weird. I'm half expecting him to pull out a knife on Fox or something_

"Alright, I'm trusting you here," Wolf announced, crossing his right leg. "Don't make me regret doing it… Talk."

Nathan cleared his throat. "So… First off, I understand your kind is here because of a supposed missile that hit your planet launched by us, correct?"

"Yeah," Wolf responded. "At least… that's what my military is saying. I personally don't agree with them."

"And you'd be correct in thinking that, Wolf," Nathan said with a nod. "I don't run the country, but I know for a fact that our government is not _that_ stupid to attack an intergalactic race such as yourself."

"I fuckin' knew it," Wolf muttered in a low growl, then suddenly picked his voice up. "I told them! I even explained why!"

"How so?"

Wolf slouched a bit as he tilted his ears slightly. "Well, you know that we've been sending satellites into your atmosphere, right?"

"So those _were_ yours?" Nathan said, nodding his head forward a bit.

"Yup… Anyway, I told our general that supposed 'missile' that hit us was just you guys' botched satellite in an attempt to mimic us, but he said it was too coincidental to be an accident."

"Damn, that does makes a lot of sense," Nathan mumbled.

"And now my military is hell bent on revenge and want nothing more than to see your planet crumble, and there's no stopping them once they've got their minds set on something."

"Not unless we make them sit down and rationalize," Nathan stated, but the lupine's sarcastic laughing cut him off.

"You think they'll listen to you?" Wolf chuckled, shaking his head. "They won't listen to anyone that'll tell them different. I tried, believe me I've tried, but they will _not_ listen. They won't even listen to their own kind; what makes you think they'll listen to yours?"

"Hold on," Nathan said, raising his hand up slightly. "They probably wouldn't listen to me before, but they sure as hell will now."

"Hah! What'll make 'em, huh?" Wolf said doubtfully. "You gonna threaten 'em? What good'll that do ya?"

Nathan grew tired of the lupine's nagging, so he un-holstered his silenced silver handgun and pressed it up against the orange vulpine's temple, right underneath his ear. Fox instantly froze faster than a computer with a virus and inhaled a big gasp of air, feeling the barrel of the cold weapon pushed deep into his fur. Wolf faintly recoiled at the sudden sight with a terrified look on his maw.

"That got your attention, didn't it?" Nathan taunted, caressing the handle of the weapon. "No different with the rest of you guys. As soon as they realize I have him, they _will_ negotiate to get him back."

Wolf could not reply. He was still holding his breath as the light sneaking in from the windows glinted off the weapon. Fox was easily just as terrified as the lupine was. He remembered the human telling him he wouldn't hurt him just moments ago, but he was within inches of blowing his head off.

"Do I make a point?" Nathan said with a smirk. Wolf nodded violently in response.

"Alright, alright, I get it!" Wolf finally spoke up. "Just don't hurt him! Please!"

Nathan chuckled faintly and removed the gun from the kit's fur. Fox instantly let out a sigh of relief, then was attacked by the lupine's paws as Wolf grabbed his head and embraced it.

"Don't worry. I'll never hurt this little guy," Nathan assured, patting the tod's unbroken leg gently. "He's our ticket to the end of these attacks. I need him for negotiations." Wolf nodded, then gave a reassuring wink to the vulpine on the couch.

"So… are you with me on this?" Nathan asked, holstering the weapon. "Can you help me?"

Wolf glanced back at the vulpine, then towards the bearded human. He hesitated, but eventually held out his gray paw.

"I'm in," Wolf affirmed, shaking the human's hand. He suddenly tightened his grip and brought his muzzle within inches of the human's nose. "But, if you ever hurt that one there, or try to pull that shit like you just did again, I will kill you. I am _not_ kidding."

"Don't worry," Nathan said with a smile, "I would never lift a finger to you guys. I'll do everything in my power to keep you guys safe."

Wolf gave a slight pleased grin, then watched as the human pulled out his phone from his pocket.

"I know a friend of mine that works for our space program," Nathan said, tapping the screen. "I'll call him and see if your assumptions are ri–"

"Don't!" Wolf yelled, lashing out like a blur and snatching the phone from the human's grasp. "If you try and call anyone, our military will be right on your doorstep in a heartbeat. They hacked into all your cell grids, and are using them for their own communications lines. They can triangulate anyone's location if they have the given information to do so."

"So they can basically track us?"

"With stuff like this, yes," Wolf responded, shaking the phone like a piece of paper. "If they want someone, like this one for example," he started, patting the vulpine's head. "They'll pull out all the stops to try and locate them."

Nathan nodded, then froze mid nod and had the look of someone that just shit their pants. He eyeballed the vulpine on the couch, then shifted his glance back to the lupine. Wolf instantly donned the same look as the bearded human.

"FOX! Give me your damn transmitter NOW!" Wolf shouted, practically ripping the wristlet off of his arm and throwing it full force at the door, completely shattering the device. If that wasn't good enough, Wolf grabbed his weapon off the table and fired at it, completely vaporizing most of the chips.

Wolf growled and set the gun back down, then looked at the human who was still trying to comprehend what just happened. "De'nue iseu se avios, met'ne suus."

"What are you– oh, damn translations," Nathan grumbled, then activated the translator on his end. Wolf saw the device strapped to the human's wrist and attempted to grab at it, but Nathan pulled away before his paw could clamp down on it.

"Hold on, we need this one. If you want me to understand you, and the other way around, we need this one at least."

Wolf grunted and held out his paw. "Fine. Lemme see it for a quick sec," he motioned two claws towards himself at the human, then pawed at the device on his wrist.

"There," he said, closing the main flap. "Disabled the location markers. Considering they probably didn't know you two had transmitters, they don't have their serials. They won't be able to track yours." He glanced over at the smaller woman, who had the similar device on her wrist as well. "Can you hand me yours, sweetie?"

"If you promise not to call me that ever again," Taylor giggled, removing the device and tossing it across the room to the lupine. "Just keep it. I don't have a use for it."

"Thank you," Wolf grinned, then adjusted the wristlet on his own arm. After he had the correct size, he turned back to Nathan. "Well, since you didn't get rid of Fox's transmitter right away, they probably know where we are. We need to move if you want your plan to work."

Nathan cursed and kicked at the wall. "Alright. I know a place pretty far away from here that we can go to. Friend of mine lives in the mountains in the west. We can camp out up there."

Wolf nodded, then nudged the kit to get up. The four walked out of the small apartment and into the quickly cooling Midwestern evening. The temperature was plummeting just as fast as the impending sunset, and Nathan instantly knew it would be a cold evening.

"You got room for an extra set of legs?" Wolf asked with a faint grin. "I'd take the Arwing but the guys could track them too."

"Yeah," Nathan responded. "Just grab the stuff that you need and load it up in that car. We gotta get out of here quickly."

Wolf obliged, then walked to the stolen fighter and looked around its contents. It had an extra set of clothes, which fit him perfectly since Garrison was Wolf's size, a small handgun, a first-aid kit, and a large, bulging black briefcase. Wolf was hesitant on the bag, but grabbed it nonetheless. The first thing he noticed about it was it was extremely heavy. It was probably heavier than the first-aid kit and his weapon combined. He set the bag and the other contents next to the car's back tire just as Nathan walked out with a medium sized suitcase.

The suitcase had everything he needed; a few sets of clothes, including the Cornerian uniforms, some technological gear, and his ACR with a few other weapons just in case. As he rolled the bag up to the car, he gasped at the briefcase leaning against the tire.

"Where the hell did you get that?" Nathan questioned, grabbing the briefcase up. There was no mistaking it; it was exactly what Nathan presumed it was.

"It was in the Arwing. Why? What is it?"

"It's the damn football!" Nathan shouted, handling the bag like it was radioactive.

"The hell is the football?" Wolf questioned with an eyebrow raised.

"This is our government's super weapon. It's basically a briefcase with the controls to all of the nuclear missiles scattered around the nation. Again, _where did you get this?_"

"_Again_, it was in the Arwing," Wolf responded with eyes wide at what Nathan just explained. "It's not my ship; it belongs to one of the Husky Squadron pilots. They hit the east coast earlier today, which is probably where they found it."

Nathan set the bag in the trunk of the car and looked back at Wolf. "Do you realize what your military would have done with that?"

"Of course," Wolf responded with a scoff. Nathan gave a sly smirk and glanced at the large silver and blue aviation masterpiece that was the Husky Squadron Arwing.

"You stole the right ship," Nathan stated, making Wolf grin slightly.

"Just what I do," he said proudly, then helped the vulpine into the back seat. "You'll be fine back here, right bud?"

"I guess," Fox responded, trying to get comfortable in the seat.

"Yeah, sorry about the seats Fox," Nathan apologized. "They aren't really made for people with tails."

Wolf started to walk to the other side of the vehicle, but not before smacking Nathan in the back of the leg with his own tail. It probably hurt the lupine more than it did the human, considering the tail is a very sensitive part of the Cornerian anatomy. Wolf popped into the passenger seat as Nathan slipped behind the wheel. As he started the car, Taylor jumped up into the open window.

"You guys stay safe out there, m'kay?"

"You're not coming with?" Nathan asked.

Taylor shook her head. "You guys can take care of yourself without me. Plus, I'll just end up slowing you guys down."

Nathan sighed, then half hugged the woman through the window of the car. "I will. And… Thank you so much. I couldn't ask for a better friend."

"Please don't start making me cry," Taylor giggled, sniffing faintly. "Just… Stay safe Nate. I'll be right here waiting for ya."

"Thank you Taylor," Nathan said before putting the car in gear. As he was backing up, he shouted over the engine roar. "I'll try and let you know how things are going."

"Awesome," she responded, then looked in the back seat at the vulpine. "Goodbye Fox! Stay safe!"

Fox smiled and waved back as Nathan pulled out of the parking lot and onto the city street, making a beeline westward for the Rocky Mountains; their only safe haven.

* * *

**Husky Destroyer**

"How's he doing?" Sharp asked in the small infirmary in the Husky Destroyer. A small husky doctor was working with a machine as he responded.

"He just got his bell rung. He'll be fine once he wakes up," he responded, pushing his glasses farther up his face.

"No, not G. _Him_," Sharp corrected, pointing at the occupied bed next to the unconscious husky.

"Oh, he's alive. We've got him on a little bit of life support since your shot ripped right through the center of his chest. You missed his heart by inches, Alex."

"That's good," Sharp responded, sitting in a chair by the door. "I just wish the other one was still alive."

"What happened to the other one anyway?" the doctor asked, pulling up a chair and sitting next to the tall husky.

"Sheila went mad," Sharp explained, rubbing his left temple. "She went berserk after that one blew Richie's brains out. I'm surprised she didn't go after _him_."

The doctor nodded and looked back at the unconscious human in the bed. "I did manage to find some information about him. Name's Justin Trent. He's an army officer for them; a colonel to be exact. He's also got some background with their space program. He might actually have the information we need."

"The space program?" Sharp echoed. "Like, the missile they launched?"

"I'd assume so," he responded, then patted the larger husky's shoulder. "As soon as he wakes up, I'll call you down. I'll also let Pepper know that we have him as well."

"Thanks doc," Sharp said as the doctor stood back up and checked on the two patients. "I'm gonna check on Sheila. Hopefully she's calmed down a bit."

The dark husky got up and walked out of the medical room, and slowly trotted down the hall towards the copper husky's quarters. As he was within fifty feet of the major's door, his transmitter started buzzing loudly. Sharp stared in curiosity at the caller ID.

"Vince?" Sharp answered the call hesitantly. "Uh… everything alright? You don't usually call–"

"Did you hear what happened?" Vince practically shouted to the large husky. He caressed his left ear as he responded.

"No… What's up?"

"You know James' kit, Fox?"

"Of course," Sharp said with a smile. "Everybody knows little Foxie."

"The humans took him!" Vince blurted out suddenly, stunning the husky on the other end.

"What?! How?" Sharp questioned, disbelieving that the humans were able to kidnap someone of such high importance.

"I- I don't have any clue," Vince said humbly. "We've been working nonstop to try and get him back, but so far we haven't had any luck."

"Do you want me to help?" Sharp asked. "Our mission is done, I can help if–"

"I already asked Pepper, but he wants you guys to rest up and prep for the second assault."

"Damn," Sharp cursed under his breath. "What's this second mission, Vinny?"

"Um," Vince started, trying to jog his memory. "If I'm not mistaken, tomorrow you guys are supposed to take a southern strike and eliminate some military bases in a region called the 'Pacific Southwest'. That'll be a success if we can eliminate all of the bases there."

"Well, I'm sorry Vince, but I need you to tell Pepper we won't be able to fight tomorrow."

"Why? What's wrong Alex?"

Sharp sighed as he leaned up against Sheila's door. "Our squadron took a pretty hefty blow earlier today. I don't think anyone will want to fly tomorrow."

Vince noticeably lowered his voice. "Who?"

"Both Richardson and Gallagher were K.I.A, Garrison took a pretty hard lick, so he'll be out for a while, and Sheila's completely fuckin' lost it."

"Damn," Vince said after the word bomb had finished being recited. "I'm so sorry. I'll contact Pepper right away; let him know that we'll need to put your second mission on hold."

"I'd appreciate that Vinny," Sharp said thoughtfully. "Thank you."

"Anytime," Vince said, then dropped the call. Sharp sighed and put his arm down, then used that same arm to knock on Sheila's door.

_Hopefully she's still awake_, Sharp thought._ I know that was a pretty long and grueling mission, and the emotional toll it took on her was catastrophic, but she needs to know what's up. She loves little Foxie; she'll want to know._

A few seconds passed, but nothing happened. There wasn't even a slight rustling inside, or even any recognition that he was even at the door. Again, Sharp pounded on the door with more force, but the same response came from the other end; a lack of one.

"Sheila?" he called out from the other side. "She, you alright? I need to talk to ya."

Sharp knew that the copper husky was not a heavy sleeper, so either she was ignoring him, or she wasn't even there. Sharp pounded on the door again, but silence still resounded from the other end.

"Sheila," Sharp stated sternly. "Come on Spitzie, open up. I need to tell you something."

The silence on the other end quickly transitioned from annoying to worrisome. Sharp swiftly pulled out his transmitter, scanned the door with the machine, and opened the door to the husky's room. As he walked in, the fur on the back of his neck stood on end, and a cold chill ran down his spine.

"Where'd she go?"

Almost as if on cue, the alarm for the main hangar doors opening blared loudly, and he could hear the sound of a G-diffuser warming up. Sharp bolted from the female husky's room and down to the hangar, but once he stepped foot in the hangar he saw the light copper husky shutting her Arwing cockpit and immediately shot out towards the surface of the planet.

"Fuck!" Sharp barked, kicking the wall. He pulled up his transmitter and instantly called the husky. "What the hell are you doing? You don't have any authorization–"

"I'm done," Sheila interrupted calmly. "I'm not fighting anymore. You can take over."

"What? Why?"

A few more seconds passed in silence, then right as he was going to question her again she spoke up in the same way she said before.

"I'm getting to the bottom of this shit."

* * *

**Rockford, Illinois**

"This the place?" Wes called out as he flew over a medium sized apartment complex almost 750 feet below. The building was a dark shade of brown with some pigments of black strewn all around it; which was tough to decipher with the quickly darkening sky swarming them. James glanced at his radar screen in his Arwing HUD and responded.

"According to Arti's tracker, he's in there," he said, then cracked his knuckles. "Let's rough up these kidnapping sons of bitches."

Wes chuckled as he knifed downward and brought his Arwing down in a small field across the street from the building complex. Just as planned, James and Sarah came down right behind him, while Wallace and Riley circled the sky around the building with their search lights on. James pulled out a flashlight and strapped it to the top of his rifle as he approached the other two rescuers.

"Okay, follow me, and stay quiet," the orange vulpine commanded, then hesitantly crossed the street and trotted up to the building. As Sarah was scanning the area with her own flashlight, she gasped as her light reflected off of something metallic. Something familiarly metallic.

"Mr. McCloud, check this out," she piped up in her young feminine voice. She sounded polite and stern, albeit she was a teenage girl. James quickly came up next to her, and he growled as he recognized the object being illuminated.

"What the hell is one of our Arwings doing down here?" he said through clenched teeth. Wes deviated from his position and shone a light on the right G-diffuser; right on the husky head.

"One of the huskies is with them," Wes announced with a scoff. "That's one of their ships."

James growled in the back of his throat as he stormed up to the cockpit and searched the contents. "Husky 8… Who's Husky 8?"

"That's uhh… Garrison," Sarah responded. "Anthony Garrison."

James harshly slammed the cockpit shut as he dropped off of the ship. "That son of a bitch is working for them," he growled bitterly, then raised his rifle back up and pointed at the house. As they inched closer to the building, James pulled out his transmitter and pulled up the tracking device. He followed the dot to the second story, and the third door on that floor marked with the numbers '43'. The three of them stood their tails up against the wall, and waited for James to make a move.

"Now!" James barked, pushing off the wall and putting his boot through the door, practically tearing the door off of its hinges. The three of them stormed in with guns primed and triggers tightened. However, the small apartment was completely empty and pitch black. Sarah located a light switch and suddenly bathed the room in a dull yellow light from the corner of the room. James kept transitioning his eyes from his transmitter to the room itself, with his worried look growing with each transition.

"He's right here…" James said distantly. "I'm standing right on top of him. Where the hell is he?"

"You sure that it's calibrated correctly?" Sarah asked, walking up to the orange vulpine. Sarah was significantly shorter than James, which made the sight of the silver vulpine struggling to see the screen somewhat funny. Wes himself couldn't keep a straight face as he watched her fight to see his screen.

"I don't see why it wouldn't," James responded, poking at the transmitter. "I just fixed it not–"

James stopped mid-sentence as he heard something crack underneath his boot. He lifted up his left foot, and noticed a small green chip that had been snapped under his weight. He bent down to pick it up, then gasped as it reflected off of the light in the corner.

"This is part of our transmitters… He was here, but god only knows where he is now! God dammit we were too fuckin' late!"

James growled and sank down on the large couch, and pawed his forehead in despair. He let a few quiet sobs escape his maw as he buried his face into his arms. Sarah herself started getting emotional at the sight of the sobbing vulpine, so she slid up beside him and awkwardly spoke up.

"Mr. McCloud, please don't cry. We'll find him."

Wes growled angrily in the back of his throat, cutting off the vixen. "Do you know where they are then?" he questioned harshly. "Can you find them Bowman? Can you find them so I can give them what–"

Wes suddenly stopped as both of his gray tinged ears stuck straight up and twitched. He noticed a feminine figure holding a small box come out from the hallway out of the corner of his eye, and as soon as she noticed the armed Cornerians, her eyes widened and instantly dropped the box.

"Oh shit," she muttered, throwing her arm down to pull the silver handgun from her pants. Wes instantly noticed the object she was shooting for and fired first, putting three or four lasers into the human's frame. She instantly fell to the ground, coughing up blood and gasping for breath. Two of the hybrid's shots ripped through the female's chest, one through her leg, and another through her left arm. Wes brutally picked up the woman by her long, braided brown hair and forcefully slammed her up against the wall with his muzzle contracted in complete enragement.

Taylor chuckled as she let another bloody cough exit her body. "Killing me won't solve anything. You want your kid, you have to find him… I ain't telling you where he is."

"He ain't my kit," Wes snapped, bringing his other arm against the human's neck. "I don't care what happens to him. All I want is to see your kind suffer for what you've done to us."

Wes' gray tinged ear twitched as he heard a click resound from right behind his head. He turned his head around just enough to see James holding the rifle up to his head to the point where he could see down the barrel of the weapon.

"What was that?" James questioned angrily. "He's my fuckin' kit, now put her down before I kill _you_."

"Don't get pissy with me McCloud," Wes retorted, not releasing his hold. Taylor was gasping and sputtering for breath under the hybrid's arm, and not to mention the immense pain she was experiencing as she felt the intense heat from the lasers in her stomach. "If you're gonna kill someone, kill her."

"Then get out of my way," James commanded, swiping at the wolf-dog with his rifle. "I'm honestly more pissed with you right now."

"What the hell did I do?" Wes shot, tightening the grip on the human's throat. "I saved your life by taking down this son of a bitch. You should be thanking me!"

"Why should I thank you when you just said you don't care about my kit?" James impatiently asked, fondling the trigger of his rifle.

Wes scoffed faintly as he donned a sly smirk. "He's your kit McCloud; not mine. I couldn't care less about what happens to him."

James succumbed to his increasing rage, and pulled the weapon back up, thrusting it up against the wolf-dog's forehead. Sarah gasped loudly and covered her muzzle, while Wes snickered as he felt the cold barrel in his fur.

"You won't do it," Wes taunted with a scowl. "You couldn't kill your own kind, no matter what they said to you. You're too soft."

"You wanna see me change that?" James questioned irately, priming the weapon.

"Do it then," Wes egged the vulpine on with a smirk. "Prove me wrong."

"James, please don't!" Sarah pleaded. James ignored her and tightened his grip on the rifle and caressed the trigger with his claw, continuing to glare at the wolf-dog. Wes' muzzle was still curled upwards, and his gray ears were sticking straight up.

"Come on James," Wes pestered quietly, keeping his chokehold on the female behind him. "I know you want to do it. Come on! Shoot me if you're gonna shoot me!"

James pushed the hybrid's skull back with the barrel of his gun, but it didn't discourage him one bit.

"Do it! Fuckin' do it James! Fuckin' shoot–"

James threw the rifle down, then instantly lashed out and landed a staggering blow to the wolf-dog's muzzle, causing him to yelp and falter backwards into a bookshelf. He collided with the furniture piece harshly, letting his knees buckle as he fell onto his tail with both of his paws over his nose. James spun around to the human who had slid down the wall and was desperately trying to catch her breath. He lowered himself to one knee and glared at the human.

"Where the hell is he?" James questioned through clenched teeth. Taylor sputtered with blood leaking from her mouth, then coughed violently, getting a few drops of blood onto the vulpine's green flight suit pants.

"I… I don't know…" Taylor whispered. "I wouldn't tell you anyway…"

James faintly growled in the back of his throat, the inched closer to the human's dying frame. "Tell me now, and I'll help you. We can save you if you just tell me where they've taken him."

Taylor chuckled again as another drop of blood oozed from her mouth. "You furries aren't getting anything from me…"

Taylor coughed violently again, then slouched even lower on the wall as she gasped for breath. James grabbed at her arm and attempted to bring her back up. Sarah dropped her weapon and rushed up alongside the orange vulpine.

"Please," James pleaded. "Just tell me where my kit is. I'm begging you."

Taylor's eyes shut as she let a smirk escape her face. "And… what'll happen… when we beg you to stop your attacks? Will… you listen?"

"What are you–"

"We didn't start this," Taylor coughed, feeling the world around her darkening. "We did not start a war with you guys… If anyone started this war… it was you…"

James lifted his head back up and cocked it at the vixen next to him. Sarah gave her own confused stare back, then turned back when the human started chuckling distantly.

"I… I know… where they went… but… you… you have to promise me something…"

"What is it?" James quickly asked, leaning closer to the dying human.

Taylor choked back another bloody cough, then smirked again as another crimson drop dripped down out of the corner of her face. She lifted her right hand off of the wound on her midsection and dropped it to her side, then used the last of her strength to tighten her fingers.

"Promise me you'll see me in hell."

**_BANG_**


	13. Driving & Drinking

**A/N: Okay, I'm done leaving you guys on a cliff face. The suspense was fun while it lasted, no? ;)**

**Anyway guys, thank you so much for the feedback on the last one. Still baffles me how you guys can waste your time with this. Haha I'm joking, but really, I appreciate you guys taking time to leave feedback. I honestly can't say it enough.**

**Alright, back to the story at hand. As usual, I'd appreciate any and all feedback if possible. Things are starting to heat up, as most of you can obviously see, and I want to know how you guys are reacting to it. You guys take care, and I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Taylor managed to use her remaining strength to pull out the weapon and haphazardly fired at the anthro soldiers surrounding her. She obviously was targeting the orange vulpine that was closest to her face, but with her immense blood loss she couldn't see straight and missed her vulpine target.

She hit something else.

James cringed as the weapon went off, then immediately after the shot resounded, numerous warm drops scattered onto his face and muzzle. He gasped when he noticed the warm liquid on his face, but felt his heart drop like a rock in pure water as he realized it was not his. He slowly and hesitantly opened his eyes to the sight of the gun on the floor and the human's chest not moving. The warm, red drops on his muzzle traversed down his fur and dropped onto his flight suit as he slowly turned around just in time to see the silver vixen that was crouching next to him fall flat on her back.

"Sarah!" James cried, spinning around and dropping low to her frame. He put a paw on the side of her neck to check for a pulse, but felt even more wet warmth on his paw. He lifted his paw out of the vixen's curls, then noticed his paw was dyed almost completely crimson. The wound on the vixen's head spread from the silver curls to the light carpeted floor, turning both surfaces the same deep shade of red as the orange vulpine's scarf.

James stood there motionless, watching the blood pour out of the lifeless vixen. He turned back to the human corpse with an enraged fire in his eyes, contracting his muzzle in complete seething rage.

"You BITCH!" James snarled, storming over to the lifeless human's frame and began throwing punch after brutal punch at the female's unmoving face and chest. His blood was absolutely boiling and his muscles seemed to work on their own as he pounded on the lifeless human relentlessly, seeming as though he was taking out all the hell he was dealing with on his new improvised punching bag. As soon as his muscles became as heated as his veins, he crumpled to the ground at the feet of the corpse with tears streaming from his emerald eyes. He about let a sob escape his maw, but stopped when the hybrid sitting up against the bookcase grunted in disbelief.

"Holy shit James," Wes gapped, continuing to fondle his nose. "You… What the hell happened to you?"

James again dipped his head and let the tears flow down his fur like a small waterfall. Wes slowly shook his head as he stood up and lifted his rifle off the ground.

"I don't know who the hell you are, but you are _not_ James McCloud," he stated, looking disapprovingly at the vulpine. "There's no way the James I know would threaten to kill his own troops, then beat the shit out of a damn corpse because she just murdered someone. You… You've changed James… I don't know why you did, but whatever found its way up your ass needs to find a new home."

James eventually crumpled all the way down on the floor; sitting on his tail while sobbing faintly.

"James, they're using Fox as a hostage," Wes announced, patting the vulpine's shoulder. James instantly lashed out and grabbed the hybrid's wrist harshly, contracting his muzzle and baring his teeth.

"Don't think I don't know that," he snarled, almost crushing the wolf-dog's wrist.

"Then why don't you do something about it," Wes retorted, jerking his paw free.

"I'M TRYING!" James barked in a cracking voice, shooting up into a standing position. "Don't you understand? I'm busting my tail off to try and find him! What do you think we've been doing for the past two hours? Havin' a fuckin' joy ride, taking in the surroundings before we burn it to the ground? I'm trying to get my damn kit back you sick bastard!"

"And you're not going to!" Wes snapped sourly, glaring at the vulpine. "Don't you understand McCloud? They're not going to give Fox back. No amount of negotiations, peace talks, or compromises can amount to what they are gonna ask for him. The only way you're gonna get him back alive is if he manages to survive the hell we're going to put this planet through."

Wes curled his muzzle downwards and shook his head again as James' maw unhinged at what he just announced. He tromped over to the doorway, then right before he stepped out he turned his head back around and gave a nasty scowl.

"I don't know about you, but I'm getting _my_ revenge on these aliens, whether you're with me or not."

With that, the wolf-dog stormed out of the apartment and out into the cool, crisp night air. A few minutes later, the boom of an Arwing was heard in the distance. James climbed back up off the blood stained floor, then crumpled back down on the couch with his eyes buried in his paws.

Wes was right. He had changed, and not in a good way. He let his emotions take over too much, and didn't let his instincts or training shine. He acted too much on impulse. He wasn't an impulsive fox, but this insane string of events he had been dealing with at the hands of the humans turned his character upside down. He went from a kindhearted, rational fox to a fox seething with blind rage and fury.

That wasn't him.

The humans were trying to kill him from the inside out. They were messing with his emotions, his personal life, his dignity, and anything else they could get their filthy, furless paws on. Wes was right; the humans needed to taste their revenge. They claimed way too many lives, and now it was time for them to pay up. They all needed to pay; especially the ones who had taken his kit away.

"Too many lives," James echoed aloud, glancing at the lifeless vixen laying in a pool of her own blood beside himself. His mind started a flashback of countless images of the blazing Corneria City, with bodies littering the streets and debris covering the ground for miles. Images of the people he had come to know back home, laying lifeless in the streets. Tens, hundreds, thousands of his friends back home dead; murdered for absolutely no reason but for sheer pleasure at the hands of the culprits.

James paws began to ball up in another spell of rage. As soon as the rage was about to boil over into an inconsolable fit, another image popped into his mind that instantly capped his anger; the traumatic moment of seeing his wife lying motionless in the grass in their yard. His rage quickly was replaced with heartbrokenness.

"Too many lives," he echoed again in a cracking voice as he stood up and glanced back down at his boots. He momentarily fished inside of his pocket for a few seconds before pulling out a small golden locket. Inside were two pictures; the first being a picture of himself and Vixy on their wedding day. Both of them were dressed to a tee; James wearing a very neat and tidy suit with a red bowtie, and Vixy wearing a gleaming, vibrant, snow white dress. Both were showing their pearly white vulpine teeth with massive smiles as James had his arm wrapped around his new wife. It was the second happiest moment of the vulpine's life.

The second picture was easily James' happiest moment; their first professional picture with his new kit. Fox was less than a month old in the picture, and he was swaddled in a pale, faded green blanket in James arms while Vixy stood beside them. Fox had a toothless smile and a tiny orange paw sticking out of the blanket which was wrapped around one of James' much larger fingers. Even though Fox was extremely young, he looked exactly like his father. The pale green eyes were identical on both vulpines, and both of them were absolutely ecstatic.

What he would do to rewind and have that moment again.

What he would do to bring Vixy back and have her at his side for the rest of his life. What he would do to quit his life as a mercenary and live every moment with his family that he still had. There were too many things he would like to take back and do over again so that they would end up exactly the way he wanted them to. It was too late now; everything had changed.

They took away the love of his life, but they would not get away with taking his kit. He wouldn't allow the humans to take another one of his loved ones away. He couldn't get Vixy back, but he sure as hell would fight to get Fox back. He'd fight to his last breath to get him back.

"Too many lives," James repeated again, closing the locket and stuffing it back into his pocket. "I won't let them take away another one. Not while I'm still breathing."

James sorrowfully walked over to the lifeless vixen and placed a paw over her silver curls. "I… I'm so sorry Sarah… I tried… I failed you… I've failed everyone…"

James growled softly as he shot up and picked his rifle off the ground.

"I won't fail you Fox… Mark my words… I will get you back."

* * *

**50 miles west of Omaha, Nebraska**

Nathan glanced at the digital clock on the dashboard of the car.

_1:37 A.M._

Driving was beginning to take a toll on him. He had been driving for well over six hours, and he wasn't even halfway to his intended destination. The monotony of the vacant roads and street signs being illuminated by his headlights made him start feeling very lethargic. However, the only thing keeping him awake was his thoughts, and his determination; not to mention the lupine that was in the passenger seat next to him as well.

He was making all kinds of faint sounds as he fiddled with his wrist transmitter. Quiet grunts, moans, mumbles, and grumbles were heard from the passenger seat as he continuously fidgeted with the device. At times it seemed that he had given up and fallen asleep, but every time Nathan looked back at him, he was back fixing his transmitter.

Nathan glanced behind the seat to the fox in the back seat, fast asleep with his head dangling on the seatbelt. He didn't blame the kit one bit for being dead asleep. His world got turned upside down in a matter of hours, going from a calm life away from combat to right in the center of crossfire between two of the greatest powers in the entire universe. Boy, what a hell of a jump to make, and the emotional toll that it took with it was astronomical as well, judging by his current physical condition.

Nathan looked back over at Wolf, who looked like he was shivering even under his jacket and thick gray fur. It was fairly frigid, being in the low forties at night, which is why Nathan threw on his heavy hooded jacket before he stepped behind the wheel. He poked at the glove box in front of the lupine.

"There should be a blanket or something in there," Nathan pointed out. Wolf needed no second invitation as he opened the container and pulled out a dark gray blanket, then swiftly wrapped it around his torso. Nathan chuckled quietly as he refocused on the road.

"Thanks," the lupine said, already starting to feel warmer.

After a few awkward moments of silence, Nathan hesitantly spoke up. "So, I never got a proper explanation on why you guys are so determined on wiping us out. If it's not too much of a request, could you please explain for me as best you can?"

Wolf shifted in his seat, cleared his throat, and then looked over at the human who was still focused on the road. "So, I filled you in about the satellite, right?"

"Our botched satellite, yes."

"Well, by a stroke of twisted, sadistic luck, that satellite came down right in our capital city main square. It wouldn't be that much of a deal if it was a normal satellite, but it was one that used a combustible fuel source for powering the instruments of the machine instead of solar power. So, basically, as soon as it hit the ground, it exploded with more force than we could ever hope to achieve without going to full-on nuclear weaponry."

"Good lord," Nathan mumbled under his breath.

"And it seems _I'm_ the only one that isn't running off of blind rage," Wolf said, somewhat bitterly. "I'm the only one of them that actually thinks rationally, but that doesn't seem to matter if I can't find someone willing to listen."

"Not even your military or anyone?"

Wolf growled slightly as he looked out the window. "Not a single damn one of them," he grumbled, then glanced back at the little vulpine in the back seat as he continued. "And Fox's father James, who would usually be the most rational thinker in a situation like this, is probably the one with the most blood lust in reality."

"How come?"

Wolf sighed and glanced down at the floor of the car. "The blast from that satellite threw his wife from the tree in our yard and killed her. That's how little Foxie back there fractured his leg too. And James… well… he still hasn't recovered from the grief of having his wife die unexpectedly and in the manner she did."

"So that's why he's pissed," Nathan stated, feeling the tugging on his heart strings.

"He's fuckin' livid," Wolf explained with a scoff. "He's the only reason why half of us are here. He talked our general into launching a counter-attack without actually investigating the situation. James just wanted to avenge his wife, without taking the other side's argument."

"So this is basically revenge with a universally unsettled origin about it?"

"Oh it's been completely settled alright," Wolf stated, donning a slight scowl. "They all _assumed_ it was a missile, and deduced it was an act of war because of it. That's why we're here; to fight our battles of this stupidly unnecessary war."

"So, even though your military doesn't have a logical explanation or substantial evidence proving it, they still declare war on us?"

"That's what I would like to know," Wolf grunted, picking his head back up. "They can't give any evidence to prove why it was an attack, but yet I can give them a Transporter full of evidence on how it _wasn't_, and they brush me aside like last week's newspaper."

Nathan sighed as he switched lanes on the highway, increasing his speed to almost eighty miles an hour. "Believe me, I know the feeling."

Wolf looked over and cocked his head with narrowed eyes. "How would you know?" he said with a faint trace of doubt and hostility.

"I mean, I know what it's like to have nobody listen to you, even though you are obviously right, and that leading into a huge mistake."

Wolf cocked his head even further. "How so?"

"A few years ago during a war that our country had on the other side of the planet with another country, we had an incident that sparked a nation-wide debate that determined the fate of the war itself. Basically, this other country claimed it had the capabilities of nuking the ever living shit out of ours, and if there's one thing you need to know about my country, it's that we do not take kindly to threats; especially about war and violence for that matter."

Nathan coughed a little as he continued. "Anyway, long story short, the 'sadists' won their argument, and we ended up launching an attack and taking over that country in a matter of days. However, that country had its friends, and the retaliatory measures against us did not go in our favor."

Nathan sniffed and wiped his nose on his sleeve. "It was an absolute slaughter against us. There was no warning. Just as fast as we took over that country, they took it right back with countless causalities amongst our troops. A merciless slaughter. Taylor and I… we… were lucky to escape with our lives."

"And that's what my kind is going to do to yours if we can't find a way to stop them," Wolf stated. "They're gonna continue launching attacks on you guys until their blood lust is satisfied. If you guys can't find a way to fight back, or if our plan backfires, it'll be an uncontested victory for us. Well, for them… not me."

"You don't support them one bit? Even if they are your home planet?"

"Why should I?" Wolf asked with a dirty look. "They're all sadistic animals. They want nothing to do with anyone that tries to tell them differently. Exhibit A of that fact is sitting in your car right now," he added, putting his paw on his chest.

Nathan smirked at the lupine's comment, then once again transitioned lanes on the desolate highway. Wolf spoke up again in a slight growl.

"If they don't want to listen to what I have to say, then they'll have to suffer the consequences," Wolf said coldly. "If your military doesn't put up a good enough fight tomorrow or any other day, or if this plan of yours falls through, then _I_ will personally see that the Cornerian Defense Force be put through a hell that they wish they never got their sorry tails stuck into. I _will_ prove them wrong."

Nathan could hardly believe his ears. One of the enemies was fighting on his side, and from what he gathered from the lupine, he would do it until he made his point clear. He would put everything on the line to defend his position. Nobody he knew could say that about anything anymore.

Although Wolf was considered an enemy species-wise, he wasn't an enemy at heart.

Nathan slowly pulled off to the shoulder and brought the car to a complete stop. He looked over at Wolf, who was giving the human a quizzical look. Nathan smiled, then held out his hand to the lupine.

"Thank you," he said thoughtfully, grasping his gray, fuzzy paw. "I'll do my best to see if I can't find a way to figure this out."

Nathan glanced back at the vulpine, who was sound asleep, curled up in one of his spare jackets. He was even smiling slightly in his sleep. Wolf himself chuckled a bit as he spoke again.

"And don't worry; if it gives me a chance to prove those bloodthirsty military leaders back home wrong, I'll stay with ya," Wolf stated, staring at the human with a grin. "I'm gonna make sure they know they acted on impulse. I'll back you up Nate. I promise."

"Wow… thank you so much," Nathan said from the bottom of his heart, then turned the car off. "We'll get back on the road tomorrow. I'm beat."

"Alright," Wolf nodded, then turned around and gazed out the window into the starry night sky. He made a slight glance to the transmitter on his wrist, but quickly switched back to the sky.

_If I call anyone now, they'll spot us right away. We gotta stay under the radar._

_And who would I call anyway? James would just rub in his shit all over me, Sheila is probably still pissed and wants nothing to do with me anymore, and everyone else would criticize me saying that I was wrong. Well, I'm not the one that's wrong, aren't I? I've finally got first hand evidence right next to me, and I'd love to tell them how wrong they are right now. But what'll that do? It won't stop their assault. The only thing that'll stop the attack is Fox. Nathan's idea is great, but I have my doubts on its effectiveness. They will find us; it's just a matter of time._

Wolf took another glance at the transmitter, staring at a holographic contact of the light copper husky.

_What happened Sheila? What happened to the girl I loved back home? That… what happened on the ship… that wasn't you. That couldn't have been you. You would never blow up at someone like that; especially me. You love me, and I the same to you._

Wolf sighed and turned the transmitter off, then lowered his car seat and flipped around to look out the window into the beautiful night sky.

_Sheila… I don't care what you say to me; whether it be criticism or downright condemnation… I'll still love you. Wherever you are right now, just know that I wish I was right there next to you. I love you to death Sheila… I just wish I could say that to you right now… _

* * *

**Peterson Air Force Base – Colorado Springs, Colorado**

One of the controllers watching the skies around the base was practically falling asleep at his station as he gazed at his empty radar screen. It had been like that for the entire night, but yet he still had to watch just in case. They couldn't get any nationwide support because any and all long range instruments had been compromised due to their satellite grid being hacked into. Luckily, their short-range landlines and radar tracking systems still worked, and word spread about the attack form base to base faster than fresh gossip at a high school.

Every precautionary measure in the books were being utilized by the U.S. Military. They had most of their aircrafts on standby and could be launched in a matter of seconds. Nuclear defense was out of the question, because they only seemed to be attacking locations on their home soil. They would never launch nukes on their own territory, even in a situation like this.

Besides, the president had been killed, as well as almost every other authoritative figure. They combed over D.C. countless times, sparing no buildings or structures whatsoever. They made sure that the humans' capital looked just as bad as their own. Probably even worse than their own, but they didn't care. They had apparently brought it on themselves to have their country glassed; and not a single soul on the humans' side knew why.

The controller took a sip of coffee, but immediately spit it off to the side as he glanced at his short-wave radar screen again.

"Guys we got one!" he shouted, waving his hand. "Ten klicks northeast; bearing 155."

"Just one?" another person asked as he appeared behind the radar controller.

The first controller glanced around his screen, but did not see any other bogeys other than the one on his screen. He shook his head negatively and responded. "Yup. This guy's all alone."

The second controller turned around and spoke loudly across the room. "Get weapons locked on it now. I want that son of a bitch on the ground."

Another officer acknowledged by speaking loudly into an intercom system. "All units, be advised; single enemy fighter in quadrant bravo, stand by for further instructions."

"Weapons locked," another officer said firmly. The second controller cracked his knuckles and responded.

"Bring 'em down."

"Weapons away," that same controller said with the same inflection as the sounds of missiles being launched reverberated in the military base. They had a radar tracker on the missiles as well, and as soon as they came up on the screen zooming towards the enemy aircraft the first controller chuckled.

"Looks like he found 'em. Taking some evasive maneuvers."

The second controller raised an eyebrow at the screen as he saw the red dot jumping around in the screen. "He's pretty agile for a fighter jet."

"Don't worry, we launched our best rockets," the weapons controller responded. "He ain't getting away from them, no matter how hard he tries." Just as he finished, the blip suddenly ceased moving, as well as the rocket signal being lost.

"Target hit," the other weapons manager said. "Went down just west of 24."

"Alright, get a team out there to find the wreckage," the second controller announced. "If the pilot's still alive, grab him too."

"Understood, Colonel Edler," another soldier responded, then gave his salute and shot out of the office.

"Why do you want the pilot, sir?" the first controller asked after the door shut.

Colonel Edler cracked his neck and sat in the nearest seat. "So I can figure out what they want from us."

"But sir they're–"

"No, they have a reason, don't even tell me it's not for a specific reason," Edler retorted calmly. "If they're going through all this trouble to try and wipe us out, there has to be a motive around it. You saw what they did! They hacked into our ACS feeds and launched a phantom attack on the west coast, and while we were focused on that, they swoop in and obliterate everything lined on I95. They have to have a motive behind their attacks."

"Then what would it be, sir?" the controller asked expectantly.

"I wouldn't have the slightest idea," he responded, rubbing his forehead. "That's why I want this pilot. If they're fighting like they have been all day today, obviously they know something we don't. I'm gonna get this information out of him; one way or another."

"You're not gonna torture this guy, are you?"

"If I have to," Edler replied. "He don't wanna talk, I'll make him talk."

"Sir, that could get you in a lot of trouble–"

"We're already neck deep in trouble!" Elder snapped, bolting off of the chair. "If I have to break a few rules to get this alien to talk, then I'll rip the rulebook in half. I'll rip this damn alien in half if I have to!"

Edler slowly walked away and propped himself on the nearest wall, the rubbed his temple as he lowered his head.

"As soon as we figure out who or what we're up against, we can easily wipe them out. I'll make damn sure of it."

**#####**

"Fuck," Sheila cursed, groaning in pain and trying to move out of her crippled fighter. Luckily, the rocket that hit her Arwing only clipped the wing of it, which didn't damage the cockpit in any way, but the fact that she plummeted almost a thousand feet and slammed into the ground with extremely brutal force did. She was incredibly dazed and disoriented, but she needed to get out. There was a fire burning just outside of the cockpit, and she could smell the G-diffusers starting to ignite. Once those combusted, it was all over.

She groaned out in intense pain as she unclipped her seatbelt and attempted to unhook the cockpit, but she couldn't muster enough strength to unhinge it with her arms alone. She managed to flip around, and harshly kicked the cockpit window with her leg. After the hinges had been broken off, she struggled to climb out of the crippled fighter jet.

"God damn piece of shit," Sheila grunted through her clenched canine teeth, then flipped her leg out of the cockpit. She didn't realize the handle to get out of the Arwing without falling out of it was missing, and ended up slipping off of the sleek aircraft and falling onto her tail.

"Fuckin'… OUCH!" Sheila growled, unable to move at all. She felt a warm spot on the side of her midsection, and a drop of blood running down her face. She put a paw over the torso wound, and groaned as she attempted to apply pressure. She didn't even have to look at it, but she knew that the gash was large and deep, and it would probably kill her if she didn't get help right away.

She was immersed in total, excruciating pain to the point where she could not even stand herself up. She needed to call for help, but she could not get her arm to respond enough to bring the transmitter close to her. Another thing that kicked her in the ass was the fact that it was bitterly cold. She had come down in a place of high elevation, which she instantly deduced because of the lack of air she seemed to be getting. It was either that, or her injuries were taking a toll on her quicker than she had previously anticipated.

She noticed headlights out of the corner of her eye, and the distant sound of a car engine. She wasn't usually pessimistic, but she knew that it wasn't help she was about to get. She struggled to try and get herself up and hide, but her wounds limited her movement almost entirely.

"There it is! I see the fire!"

The truck came to a stop on the side of the road which overlooked the ditch that the fighter had gone into. There was a distinct path that the ship had carved into the dirt before it finally came to a stop. Two heavily equipped soldiers jumped out of the truck and inched down into the ditch where the crippled fighter was.

"Hey, there's the pilot!" the one soldier shouted, shining a bright beam on the injured frame. "Looks like he's still alive."

Sheila struggled to move her head which was buried in her light colored hair, then growled softly at the quickly advancing soldiers.

"Did he just growl at you?" the second soldier asked.

"I don't know… Probably just– What the hell?"

The soldier was standing directly over the figure on the ground, but was looking directly at the light copper tail that jutted out from the pilot's pants. He kicked it harshly, causing the husky to yelp in a very high frequency.

"Hey, Don, it's a dog," the soldier announced. "It's like a human, but like a dog at the same time. I've never seen anything like it."

Sheila slowly reached down at her handgun, but the soldier grabbed her arm and flipped her over. She groaned in pain once again as the soldier forced both of her arms behind her.

"Nué sich diza!" she snarled, trying to kick at the soldiers.

"Oh, hey it's a girl pilot," the soldier Don exclaimed.

"Take her weapons and shit. I don't want her going off on us," the other soldier commanded, continuously holding her arms down. He managed to peel the husky's wrist transmitter from her arm, and pocketed the small device.

"I got some kind of watch," he announced. "What'd you get?"

"Handgun, and that's pretty much it," Don responded. "Edler said he wanted the pilot. You wanna load her up?"

"I'll load her up all right," the other soldier said with a smirk, tapping the base of the female's tail, causing it to flick wildly. Don also laughed faintly at the comment, but still grabbed the handcuffed husky up and forcefully walked her to the truck.

"Keep walking, fuzz-ball," Don commanded harshly, poking at the canine's back with his gun. Sheila fell to the ground after only walking for less than twenty feet, groaning loudly in pain. The other soldier sighed and brutally grabbed her up, setting the somewhat light husky on his shoulder.

Sheila could not move a muscle at all. She was completely numbed in pain and blood loss. As the soldiers threw her in the back of the truck, she felt the world around her starting to get darker and more distant. She fought to the best of her abilities to stay conscious, but eventually succumbed to the pain and slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

**Great Fox**

James sat on his bedside, illuminated by a small desk lamp on his nightstand. It was extremely late at night for the vulpine, but he could not sleep. Not even if he tried.

His anxiety and fear was through the roof knowing his kit was still in the hands of the humans. Hell, they could be torturing the poor kit for all he knew. They could be doing anything they wanted to Fox, and he wouldn't be able to stop it. He was always there to intervene for Fox at school if there were bullies. He always had the kit's back, but this was another story. He was miles away, and completely vulnerable.

He stared at the small piece of paper that was found on the kit's door intently. That number on the page was just screaming to be called, but he couldn't bring himself to calling it. It was Cornerian policy; don't answer to threats or hostages. He always agreed with that policy, but now that he was experiencing it first paw, it was the worst law ever created.

James set the paper on his nightstand and took off his bloodstained flight suit. He threw on a pair of black, loose fitting sweatpants and wound the red scarf around his neck, not bothering to put on a shirt as he trotted out of his quarters. As he walked down the hall, he could still hear some of the soldiers on the other levels of the ship laughing and cheering about their victory in their quarters. If only they knew the real outcome of the battle.

The orange vulpine slipped into an empty break room on his floor and turned the light on, bathing the room in a bright white light from the ceiling. There were three couches in a U shape around a very large and flat TV. Behind the couches was a small kitchen-like area with a stovetop, fridge, and a decently sized oven. The room was one of the few rooms that was carpeted, besides the kitchen being a worn out checkerboard tile. James instantly walked over to the fridge and rummaged around inside of it, making a loud clattering sound as he pushed up against glass bottles. He found an opaque dark brown bottle, then shut the fridge and plopped down on the couch, letting the cool leather soothe his exposed torso fur.

James cracked open the beer bottle and took a long drink, but just as he put the bottle on the table near the couch he heard footsteps come into the room with him.

"James?" Riley called out, seeing the orange fox's exposed white ventral fur sprawled out on the couch. "What are you doing?"

"Havin' a beer," James responded hollowly. "Sup with you?"

"Wondering why you're drinking without me," Riley chuckled, walking over to the fridge in the corner and pulling out a bottle exactly like the vulpine's. The avian cracked it open as he sat down next to the fox.

"What's up Riley?" James asked with a smirk. Riley took a quick swig and responded.

"Checkin' up on you," Riley said calmly. "Making sure you don't go insane because of all the shit you've been dealing with."

James let a larger smile crease his muzzle as he sat himself up on the couch. "You've been taking care of me a lot now since this war started… Why?"

Riley took another quick drink, then looked into the vulpine's green eyes. "I may not express it much, but I do care for my team. My family. You're family to me James, and I care about my family."

James again gave another big smile to the avian, but all Riley did was sigh and looked down as he lowered his voice. "And I saw what you tried to do a few days ago."

James' smile instantly was replaced with a stupefied look as his maw unhinged. "Y-you… saw that?"

Riley nodded while still not making eye contact. James let a sigh out of his lungs as he sank down on the couch and folded his ears back. "Riley, I… I don't know what got into me. I just felt so… terrible… Absolutely worthless… I–"

"James, I understand," Riley interrupted, placing a wing on the vulpine's knee. "I felt terrible too. My heart sank when I wound the corner and saw the gun up against your head. Right as I was gonna say something, you dropped it and fell to your knees. I hesitated too long, and that almost killed you."

Riley sniffed faintly as he turned his head away. "What got into you bud? You've never done anything like that before."

James again sighed and took another sip of beer, then looked into the avian's blue eyes. "I… I miss her Riley…" he said, choking back tears. "I miss her so much…"

Riley held back his own tears as he slid over and put a wing around the vulpine's fuzzy, shirtless frame. "I know how you feel. Remember when Cara died a few years ago?"

James chuckled silently and raised his head back up. "You were a mess."

"I was inconsolable," Riley added, ruffling his feathers. "Just like you, buddy. I understand what it's like to have your wife pass unexpectedly. No one saw her death coming either. It hit me and Falco like a sack of bricks. We were absolutely miserable for the longest time…"

Riley sighed as he lifted the bottle to his beak. "In all honestly James… I thought about killing myself too."

James faintly recoiled at the avian's sudden revelation. "You?"

Riley nodded disappointedly as he put the bottle down. "I couldn't find a way to cope with the grief. I was an inconsolable mess for months, living every day practically with a gun strapped to my head. For three whole months I thought of ending it… I could have ended it all each and every day, day in and day out for three whole months."

"Why didn't you?" James blurted out. "What stopped you from doing it?"

Riley fished out a small wallet from his pocket, and pulled a small, faded and somewhat discolored picture and handed it to the vulpine. James instantly smiled at the picture of two nearly identical avians standing side by side at the Cornerian Aviation Museum.

"Falco," James said with a smile. "Same with me… I dropped the gun as soon as Fox's name popped into my head." James faintly cringed as he restated his kit's name. "Fox…"

Riley nodded as he put the picture back into his wallet. "Your kit needs you," he stated, drying a tear from his eye. "Falco is safe back home on Corneria. Fox is… well… god only knows where he is. We've gotta track him down."

"Easier said than done bud," James said bitterly, taking another drink. "He's completely under the radar. His transmitter is gone, and he doesn't have that tracking chip that the CDF uses."

"Wait," Riley interrupted. "Isn't one of the Huskies with them? That was a Husky Arwing, no?"

"Ah, you're right," James said, capping the bottle and shooting up off the couch. "I bet we can track that–"

The vulpine was cut off as his transmitter started ringing. He looked at the illuminated screen, then growled at the caller I.D. "Son of a bitch… That's Sharp; Husky 2."

James accepted the call and instantly started yelling at the large husky. "Sharp! You've got some explaining to do!"

"Woah, woah, woah, James, chill out," Sharp pleaded. "What's wrong? Why are you–"

"Why is one of the huskies working with the humans?!"

Sharp was silent for a few seconds, then came back in a completely confused tone. "What the hell are you talking about? All of our surviving pilots are here except for–"

"Garrison, I know," James interrupted angrily. "Why is he–"

"Where are you getting this information, McCloud?" Sharp questioned impatiently. "Garrison _is_ on this ship. If you would have let me finish, I would have said it was Spitz that went AWOL. She bolted off the ship a few hours ago."

"Wait, Sheila's with them?"

"Abso-fuckin'-lutely not," the husky shot. "Sheila is absolutely livid with those humans. If she's working with them, then check to see if hell is freezing over."

James was absolutely mystified. "Then… why was there an Arwing at the human's place where we tracked Fox to?"

"Was it Garrison's Arwing?"

"Yeah."

"Oh shit," Sharp cursed, making James' anxiety rise.

"Who?"

Sharp sighed and lowered his voice. "I… I'm sorry James, you aren't gonna like me one bit after saying this, but Wolf jacked G's Arwing just shortly after we ended our mission. If that was Garrison's Arwing down there, and if you're saying whoever was flying it is with the humans and helping them, it's Wolf."

James was absolutely devastated. That was his kit working with the enemy. The same enemy that had his other kit held hostage. His earlier speculations were right about the lupine; he was the insurgent. He was working against everyone in the CDF, working against his partner Sheila, and working against his own father. He couldn't begin to describe the utter disappointment and pure seething rage he was feeling course through his veins.

"T-Thank you, Alex," James stuttered, completely dumfounded and enraged. "I… I'll take it from here."

"Take what?" Sharp asked. "What are you doing?"

James sighed as he balled his paws and lowered his voice. "Tomorrow… I'm tracking his ass down… and skinning him alive."

* * *

_This world will never be what I expected  
And if I don't belong, who would've guessed it?  
I will not leave alone everything that I own  
To make you feel like it's not too late  
It's never too late_

_Even if I say it'll be alright  
Still I hear you say you want to end your life  
Now and again we try to just stay alive  
Maybe we'll turn it all around  
'Cause it's not too late  
It's never too late_

_*Never Too Late – Three Days Grace*_


	14. Semi-Obligatory Calm

**A/N: What is this early update?! Hahaha anyway, this is just a little present from me, because I'm feeling pretty good today. Also, this is the start of a little plan I have in the making for the rest of this week and next week too. Just figured I'd give you guys an update about that.  
*Just an fyi, this chapter name will make more sense once the _next_ chapter is updated. Is that foreshadowing? Possibly. ;)*  
**

**Also, I did finally post my first picture of this story. The link should be right on my profile, so you guys don't need to search for it I hope. Hope you guys enjoy it.**

**Finally, as usual, thanks so much for the feedback, and I keep encouraging more. Stay awesome you guys, and I'll see you next update!**

* * *

**DAY TWO**

* * *

**Nellis Air Force Base – Las Vegas, Nevada**

"Can someone just get the radio lines working?!" a medium sized army officer commanded, looking around the small communications room.

"Sir, we're trying, but they shut us out of our own grids," a controller explained, trying to type his way into the unresponsive satellites.

"How do they shut us out of our own grids?" the officer shot.

"They must have a highly protectant system with them. I can't seem to break the coding inside of it."

The officer growled and walked over to a short-wave landline phone. He swiftly and unconsciously punched in a few numbers and held the receiver up to his ear.

"Any words?"

"Nothing," a static filled voice came back. "Eastern seaboard is gone. That's it. I can't get a hold of anyone."

"Do we know what we're up against?"

"Other than the fact that they are a hell of a lot more advanced than we are, no. We all know they aren't human, but we just don't know what the hell they actually are."

"Not human?" the officer asked skeptically.

"From what we gathered from the east coast attack, their soldiers have ears and tails like dogs. They're like… anthro'd dog soldiers... Shit man, I don't know."

After the message finished relaying, the static became increasingly predominant and eventually plagued the line to the point where the officer couldn't even hear himself think. He tossed the phone aside, then quickly spun around and faced one of the controllers.

"Get as many interceptor squadrons as you can in the air now. Preferably the 22's. I need to–"

He wasn't allowed to finish as a glass shattering explosion tore through the building and shook the military structure with absolute brute force. Everyone was deafened and thrown to the ground as a massive sonic-boom emanated from the building adjacent to the one they were in with a plume of dark black smoke seeping through the shattered windows. Every boom after the first one paled in comparison to that one, but it still shook the ground nonetheless. The officer stood up and looked out of the window, gazing out at a massive dark gray futuristic warship slowly working its way inland. There were countless blue and silver fighter jets swarming the area, pelting the ground with highly reactive blue lasers. Each laser that hit something instantly erupted the object into flames.

"They're here!" the officer shouted, bolting up and opening the door to the hallway. "Everyone, get underground now!"

He watched as people stumbled out of the doorway and down the hall, struggling to stay standing due to the numerous explosions outside the base. Right as the last one exited, a stray laser detonated the far side of the room, tossing the officer up against the far wall of the hallway. He staggered to his feet, then rushed after the numerous controllers towards the underground base with a limp.

Lasers tore into anything and everything within range. The main lobby of the base was nothing more than a charred exoskeleton of quickly deteriorating steel and concrete. The outside looked like a volcano had just erupted due to the thick black smoke and burning fuel. They had struck the aircraft hangars, based on how potent the burning fuel smell was.

He couldn't get a hold of anyone because, as he stated earlier, the grids were down. Not just the satellite imagery and military radio lines, but regular civilian mobile cell lines and receivers were hacked into as well. They were completely left in the dark about anything, except for regular landlines, but that wouldn't help if you were trying to be on the move, trying to escape the sudden onslaught by another power.

They finally made it to the bunker, but right as he was about to shut the door another ear splitting boom emanated from the base. He shut the bunker door, then slumped up against the wall with his head buried in his hands.

"We're so fucked."

**# CMD Zoness – Cornerain Military Destroyer 1 #**

"Get our ground squads moving," a large sandy tan gecko commanded, pointing at the large screen on the bridge. A canine nodded and pushed his microphone towards him.

"Hunts V, begin assault on westward wing."

The leopard gecko walked up to the weapons manager on the bridge and pointed to a section on his radar. "Target that airfield there. Don't let their aircrafts off the ground."

"Yes sir," the hare responded, then readjusted the large aircraft's weapons to the section the officer just mapped out. Several volatile rockets stemmed from the warship and bathed the airstrip in the trademark pale blue glow. The gecko quietly chuckled maniacally and sat down at his position.

"Sir, incoming transmission from General Pepper," the same light furred canine from before announced. The gecko cracked his knuckles and waited for the hologram to appear.

"Good morning Brigadier Koval," Pepper said cheerfully. "How's your southwestern assault coming?"

"No problems as of yet," he responded. "Just sent in our ground forces. We're at that large air defense post in the middle of the desert. I hope you don't mind, but I did take a slight detour and made an assault on the nearby city here."

"Any problems with that?" Pepper questioned.

"Nope. That was a clean cut fight. No injuries or damages to our squadrons."

"Good work. Keep at it. Once you get to the mountains, call it off and head back up out of the atmosphere. We'll brief you afterward."

"Understood General," Koval responded, but right as the bloodhound attempted to end the call he stopped him. "Didn't you say that Husky Squadron was going to help with this assault?"

Pepper grunted and lowered his head. "That was the plan, but plans don't always follow through, if you get what I'm saying."

"I honestly don't general," Koval said with a hint of bitterness. "Care to explain?"

"During the last point of Husky's campaign, they found some harsh resistance, and had some of their members killed," Pepper explained with a heavy heart. "Their leader, Major Spitz, apparently had a meltdown because of it, so I'm letting their squadron cool off before sending them back into action."

Koval hummed curiously, rubbing the side of his face. "Oh well. Tell them I send my condolences. I'll make sure to carry out their end of the mission."

"Thank you Koval. Pepper out."

The leopard gecko turned around towards the hare operating the weapons controls and spoke to him directly, pointing at a small area just to the north of the base.

"You missed a spot."

The hare nodded and quickly aimed the large Destroyer's weapons at the building. Just as quick as he tapped the red button on his control stick, the building instantly became enveloped in the blue blaze.

"That was the last one, sir," the canine controller spoke up. "Shall we disengage?"

"Not yet," Koval responded, walking over to the controller. "Keep the air squadrons out there. Tell them to comb over this area as thoroughly as possible. I'm not letting a single one of those aliens leave here alive."

* * *

**General Pepper's Flagship**

"Vince?" Arthur called out, banging on the arctic fox's door. "Vince we got a situation topside! We need you now!"

The door practically ripped open with the white vulpine struggling to throw on his white coat. "What's up Arti?" Vince asked expectantly, sticking his arm into one of the sleeves.

"Just follow me," the blue jay commanded, spinning around and bolting down the hall. Vince had just stuck his other arm in the sleeve by the time his blue tail feathers spun around the corner. Vince rushed back inside his quarters, located his wrist transmitter, and then arbitrarily threw it around his arm as he ran after the avian. As he followed the distant sound of Arthur's footsteps, he heard many of the scientists shouting back and forth between each other even at the distance he had with the communications room. By the time the vulpine stuck his muzzle into the comms room, the sound of yelling was downright deafening.

"What's goin' on?" Vince shouted, quieting the room almost instantly.

"We got a ship down," a canine spoke up. "Lost connection with it last night."

"Who?" Vince instantly questioned, rushing up to the brown furred canine.

"That's why we needed you," the canine responded humbly. "You're the only one that can come up with an answer with the little info we have."

"Alright, what'cha got?" Vince asked, rolling up an office chair next to the canine. He quickly scanned the screen, looking at the numerous numbers and terms that flooded the screen.

"Can you get a point on where the Arwing came down Trav?" Arthur asked as he came up behind the two mammals. The dark canine Travis nodded and swiped a map up onto the screen. There was a red dot near the center of the country, off to the west near what looked like a massive mountain range.

"Colorado Springs?" Vince recited confusedly, narrowing his eyes. "That's not a place Pepper plopped down, is it?"

"Naw, he had them down here," Arthur pointed to a southwestern area with his wing. "He didn't want us going into the mountains just yet. That was Star Fox's job."

"Could that be one of Star Fox's Arwings?" Vince asked with a hint of concern.

Travis needed no second moment as he quickly held up his transmitter to his maw. "Peppy? This is Pepper's comms room; we're reporting a missing aircraft, is all of Star Fox accounted for?"

"Missing aircraft?" the hare echoed. "We haven't had any of our Arwing's launch yet, so that's a negative. You're missing a ship?"

"We lost contact with one of our ships late last night. We're trying to decipher who it was," Travis responded, continuously swiping through information on his hologram machine with his other paw.

"Well, Star Fox is all here," Peppy stated. "I'd love to give you a clue but I didn't know about a missing aircraft until just now. Sorry 'bout that."

"Oh well. We'll figure it out. Thanks Peppy."

"He didn't know either?" Vince asked as the canine put his wrist down.

"Nope. It wasn't Star Fox. But… who would be in that area?" Travis asked, turning back to the vulpine. Vince stood up and pushed the canine on wheels back, then slid his own chair over as he took over the controls.

"What's the Arwing's serial?"

"Should be right in the corner," Arthur pointed out. Vince tapped on the code, then ran some backwards checks on it.

"Alright, it's a model 2C. Who runs those?" Vince asked.

"Star Fox rocks the 2A's," Travis piped up, rubbing his paw on his forehead. "2B's are reserved for scouting missions, and I think Husky and Bulldog run 2C's."

"Run some back checks on the Husky's fighters," Arthur suggested, but Vince was way ahead of the blue jay. He had already pulled up all eight of Husky Squadron's registered Arwings, and scanned through their info to see if a code matched. His heart dropped into his lower stomach once the code matched Husky 1.

"Sheila…" Vince muttered under his breath, then stared wide-eyed at the other two scientists. "That's Spitz's Arwing!"

* * *

**Peterson Air Force Base – Colorado Springs, Colorado**

The light copper husky regained consciousness in a small, dimly lit white room. She slowly opened her eyes, gazing upon walls that were completely barren and devoid of all color or features surrounding her on all four sides. The only thing she could physically make out at the moment was the silver, metal chair she was strapped to. Both of her wrists and ankles were bound to the chair by very thick, black, leather straps. She gradually regained her vision, enabling her to see a small table in the corner of the room, which held her transmitter, her handgun, and a few other things that she recognized from her Arwing, as well as… her flight suit?

Sheila's heart skipped a beat when she noticed what she was wearing. It was a very thin, very loose fitting one-piece hospital gown like garment with pale blue dots sporadically scattered all over it. She also felt a somewhat embarrassing draft right underneath where her light copper tail escaped the clothing. Obviously the humans didn't really care what the husky was wearing, as long as she was clothed.

She also noticed her midsection didn't really hurt all that much anymore. In fact, when she was able to crank her head down to where the stomach wound was, all she could make out was a thick, pure white bandage covering the large gash. Did the humans really help her survive? She knew it for a fact that she would have bled out with the massive incision on her midsection had it not been treated immediately. Granted, it still hurt slightly, but at least she wasn't staining her own fur with her blood anymore.

She tried to make another movement, but instantly realized the humans' bonds were much tighter than her clothing. Sheila grunted as she moved her arms to try and break her restricting bonds, but it was just as useless as trying to lift a full-sized truck with her bare paws. As she was struggling, a tall bearded human walked into the room with a slight smirk at the bound anthro.

"Ahh, I see our little puppy is awake?" he taunted, causing the husky's ears and head to shoot upward. She stared at the human with a scowl, but was still frightened as she had no way of defending herself if he attempted to swing at her.

"Luches ne vien'ce di," Sheila growled, causing the smirk on the human to fade away and be replaced with a questioning stare.

"What?"

Sheila gave her own confused stare back, then realized that the human couldn't understand her, and vice versa. She jerked her head in the direction of the table, grunting faintly as she was trying to point out the transmitter.

The human eventually caught on to the husky's movements after a few seconds, then slowly trotted to the table in the corner of the room. He held his hand over the transmitter and looked back at the bound husky, causing her to nod her head in approval. He hesitantly picked up the device and looked at the strange pale blue holographic screen. Sheila grunted again and nodded her head towards herself.

_This guy is so stupid_, Sheila thought as the human gave another quizzical stare. She managed to wiggle one of her fingers free, and was frantically waving it to grab the human's attention.

"What do you want from me you dumb dog?" The human questioned out loud, knowing the husky would not understand him. He held out his hand that had the transmitter towards the husky, causing her to nod again. He put the device right in front of the husky's muzzle, and she was able to select settings with the tip of her nose. As soon as she realized she had enabled the translator, she started speaking in a very enraged tone.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Sheila snapped, catching the human off guard. He put his hand over his suddenly fast-beating heart and spoke to himself in a low voice.

"They have a translator?" he asked himself, then lifted his head back up to the husky. She was breathing heavily with a nasty scowl on her face, and her extremely voluminous light brown hair was tangled and scattered everywhere around her face. He curled his eyebrows down as he continued.

"The real question is, who are you, and what are _you_ doing?" he questioned, himself donning a disapproving face.

"What's it matter to you?" she spat. The human looked at her with a sly smirk and inched closer to the husky.

"It's simple, really," he said, revealing a small knife from his jacket pocket. "Tell me who you are and what you're doing here, and I'll let you live."

Sheila's eyes shot wide open as the dim light reflected off of the blade. "No– p-please don't–"

"Well, that got your attention, didn't it?" he taunted, spinning the blade between his fingers. "I'll ask you one more time; tell me who you are and what you're doing here."

Sheila continued to stare at the large officer with a blank stare. She was completely frozen in fear. The human shook his head and walked over to the table, then picked up her tattered flight suit.

"If you won't tell me, maybe this will," he said, eyeballing the jacket. He pulled a golden pendant off the front pocket and examined it curiously, then lifted his head back up with a grin.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Sheila," he grinned, getting another angry stare from the husky. He put the pendant down, then curiously examined a small passport shaped book that was in her pants pocket. He hesitantly put the transmitter screen up against the book to have it translated for him, then lifted an eyebrow as he once again made eye contact. "Only nineteen eh? Pretty young for a pilot, no?"

Sheila curled her eyebrows downward. "Alright, you know who I am, now who are you?"

He put down the husky's jacket as he continued. "My name is Colonel Edler. I run this Air Force base, and I also enforce the airspace around here as well, which you have directly violated."

"Like I knew," Sheila interrupted with an angry stare.

"Don't give me that bullshit," Edler snapped back, holding up the husky's badge. "Says here you are _Major_ Sheila Spitz, commander of a so called 'Husky Squadron', and if I'm not mistaken, this Husky Squadron led an attack on our eastern coastal cities, correct?"

Sheila could only give a slight nod back. Edler chuckled silently and let a slight grin escape his mouth.

"Sweetie, I want to make this job as quick and painless as possible," Edler tried explaining calmly, but Sheila's loud growl silenced him.

"Do not call me that ever again," she commanded angrily. "Call me that again and I'll claw your eyes out."

"A-ta-ta-ta-ta, let's not get snippy, Miss Spitz," Edler said condescendingly, inching closer to the husky with the blade raised.

"Alright, alright," Sheila pleaded, forcing her neck back in the chair. "What do you want from me?"

Edler fingered the blade of the knife as he glared at the husky. "I want you to explain _why_ you are here, before I make myself a new fur coat; understood?"

Sheila shuddered with another look of terror as the blade came ever so closer to her face. She opened her maw, but all that came out was a high pitched squeak as her vocal chords got strung out in fear.

"Now, Sheila, I am a gentleman, so I would never hit a lady, especially a young one such as yourself, under any circumstances," Edler announced, then leaned over toward the husky, putting his open hand on the chair back. Sheila tried to fight him off, but her bounds were tight and tough to break to the point where she was completely unable to move. She turned her head away from the human, but she suddenly felt a warm hand clamp around her muzzle and jerk her face to face his own.

"But, I don't think that definition pertains to your kind, especially after what you're doing to us," he added with a scowl. He adjusted his handle on her muzzle, then tugged on it, causing the female to whimper in pain.

"Tell me why you're here!" he questioned angrily, letting her maw go and backing up a bit, still with the knife tightly grasped in his hand.

"Revenge!" she blurted out on impulse, completely petrified in fear. As soon as the yelp escaped her maw, she instantly looked at the human with wide eyes. "P-please, don't hurt me! I'll tell you everything I know! Just don't hurt me!"

"Revenge? For what?" he asked, bringing the blade closer to the husky. Sheila was stuttering noticeably and was fidgeting in her seat, her tail flicking wildly behind her.

"Your missile!" Sheila cried, practically on the verge of tears. "You humans launched a missile at our capital! You murdered our city!"

"You can't be serious," Edler stated skeptically. Sheila haphazardly blew some of her hair out of her eyes.

"You targeted our city with a missile!" Sheila continued, breathing heavily in pure fear. "I- I don't know why, but that's what everyone else says!"

Edler shook his head slowly. "No… No there's absolutely no way that's true. We would never deliberately attack someone if they didn't have a reason to start it in the first place. That's not our policy to start an attack first."

"W-What?" she stuttered softly, raising her eyebrows.

Edler let out an impatient sigh. "If you're implying _we_ started something with your kind, we didn't. Whatever you're basing your attack off, that being this so called 'missile' we _didn't_ launch, it's flawed. I would've received word if we openly attacked someone."

Sheila looked down at the floor momentarily, then jerked them back up with an angry stare. "Are you trying to lie to me?"

"Pardon?"

"Don't give me that," Sheila snapped, feeling her anger resurface. "How can you tell me you didn't attack us when I watched some of my teammates die earlier during our assault because of you humans?!"

"Are you seriously gonna try and disprove me with that?" Edler questioned loudly with a frown, instantly quieting the canine. "Don't you understand? You're attacking, and we're defending! What, you think we'll just sit back and watch while you animals kill everyone? Absolutely NOT!"

Sheila yipped when the human drove his fist into the table, leaving a large dent in the piece of furniture. He suddenly kicked the table over and growled at the husky menacingly.

"There's something you're not telling me! Spill it!"

"I swear!" the light copper husky pleaded. "That's all I know! I swear on my life!"

Edler inched closer a bit, then smirked as he looked back at the anthro pilot. "That can be arranged," he snickered, then forcefully slapped the husky's muzzle. She yelped loudly and felt the intense sting flow from the impact sight all over her face. "What else do you know?" Edler irately commanded.

She whimpered as she attempted to explain herself again, barely breaking a whisper. "I told you everything I–"

"Quit lying!" he barked, again lashing out and smacking Sheila harshly. She instantly felt her upper lip split, and blood starting seeping out and dripping off of her maw. The intense pain she was feeling was increasing exponentially as the waves of pain reverberated across her maw.

"I'm… not…" she struggled, breathing heavily and trying to hold in tears.

"Don't make this harder than it needs to be," Edler commanded. "Tell the truth; what did _we_ do to piss you animals off?"

"But… I just did–"

The human this time bent over and slugged the husky's stomach with a brutal blow. Sheila wheezed and sputtered, feeling her stomach wound start to resurface. The light hospital gown started to transition colors from the pale blue to a deep crimson as the blood seeped through the bandaging, but that didn't discourage another hard strike from the human's hand. She groaned out in immense pain and doubled over, drooping her head low and letting it hang off her shoulders. A mixture of tears and blood formed on her improvised clothing as she sniffled and gasped for breath.

Edler grabbed a fist full of the husky's light cinnamon hair and yanked it upward, causing Sheila to cringe and howl in pain.

"This is your last chance, mutt," Edler growled, "Talk, or suffer. Your choice."

Sheila disregarded her increasing bruises and total pain and spat right in the human's face. He recoiled and used his sleeve to wipe the dog slobber from his face. Sheila snarled as the officer staggered backwards, rubbing his sleeve all over his beard.

"Fuck you, asshole," Sheila growled, struggling to speak. "I told ya everything I knew! Just let me go already!"

Edler let out a loud, sarcastic laugh which cut off the husky as he made another nasty glare at her. "You think I'll let you go after that? Oh, hell no… You've just made the biggest mistake of your life."

The human, to Sheila's surprise, did not charge after her with the knife. Instead, he placed it down on the table near her tattered flight suit. He donned a sly smirk as he walked back to the husky, making her freeze up in fear.

"You think I'll let you go after you just blatantly and _repeatedly_ lied to me? I don't believe you one bit! You'll just go out and tell them exactly where to hit next if I try and let you go!"

"I promise!" Sheila pleaded breathily, trying to withhold her pain. "I won't do anything else! I just want to go home!" she cried, finally exploding into tears. She hung her head low, crying loudly as numerous tears flowed out of her eyes and off her muzzle, dripping onto the cold tile floor and her bloodstained gown. Edler chuckled quietly and patted the husky's voluminous hair.

"If you want to go home so bad, all you need to do is answer my questions," he reiterated in a fake soft voice, petting the husky like the canine she looked like.

"I told you everything I knew," Sheila growled quietly, not raising her head up. Every stroke the human made on her hair kept increasing her anger level towards him.

"Oh come on, don't be like that," Edler said condescendingly.

That was the final straw.

Sheila swiftly jerked her head up, then clamped her muzzle down harshly on the human's hand. She felt her canine teeth puncture his skin, and pretty soon tasted blood as her pressure on his hand increased. Edler groaned loudly and attempted to remove his hand, but the husky's teeth were so sunk into his flesh that her head jerked around with his arm. Edler lashed out with his other hand and brutally slugged the side of her maw, instantly releasing the pressure. He managed to pull out his hand and attempted to apply pressure on the broken skin, but realized one of the husky's long canine teeth came with as it was still imbedded in the back of the man's hand. He winced as he extracted the tooth and threw it against the wall, then turned back to give an absolutely nasty scowl to the canine who had a steady stream of blood running out of her muzzle.

"Fuckin' hurt, didn't it?" Edler irately questioned, feeling his rage finally boil over. His face was about as red as the blood that was pouring out of the four holes on the front and back of his hand.

Sheila spit out a large amount of blood on the ground near her chair; most of it not her own. "Maybe if you would've listened to me, you wouldn't have that problem!" she snapped with a lisp, trying to stop the waterfall of blood flowing from where her tooth was abruptly ripped out. "I told you I said everything I knew! You brought it on yourself!"

"Me? Listen to you?" Edler said with overwhelming hostility. "Absolutely not! You've crossed the line! I've had it! I've had it with the lies, the disrespect, and most of all–"

Edler again lashed out and smacked the husky's muzzle with more force than before. "I've had it with you animals killing us for absolutely no reason!"

The colonel didn't hesitate as he vented more of his blind and unrelenting rage on the female husky, slapping her vigorously, painfully, and repeatedly. Blood seeping out of the husky's missing tooth wound was splattered all over the floor and wall as he continued to brutally abuse her. By the time he was done, Sheila was crying loudly with blood and tears dripping off of her muzzle. Edler snarled and grabbed the husky's muzzle again, making sure not to let her bite him again as he held it towards his face. He put so much acidic inflection on his words that he could easily melt steel with his sentence.

"I'm going to ask you again… _What the fuck do you want from us_?"

Sheila couldn't respond as her maw was throbbing in pain and would not move. Edler popped his lips and threw his arms to his side in defeat. He donned a disapproving stare and shook his head in negativity, then pulled a small device from his pocket and put it up against his face.

"Get this bitch out of my sight," he growled into the receiver. "Lock her up, and don't let her leave. Make sure to patch her up first; I don't want her dying on us."

He made another quick glance to the canine, who had her head hanging low with the continuous flow of blood increasing the puddle that had formed near her chair. He exhaled angrily and continued speaking.

"I'm not through with her just yet."

* * *

**Suburban Colorado Springs, Colorado**

"Guys, we're coming into the city. Keep your heads down," Nathan commanded, trying to quickly slip through the urban city streets without it looking conspicuous. Fox had thrown on Nathan's old hoodie, which flooded on his much smaller vulpine frame, allowing him to throw the hood up over his face and cover everything except for the tip of his muzzle. Wolf lowered his seat and tried his best to conceal himself due to the lack of clothing he had at the moment with the blanket he found in the glove box.

"How far away?" Wolf's muffled voice escaped the blanket.

"Not too far," Nathan chuckled, making a sharp turn to the right. "Just down here and off to the corner."

"Where are we going anyway?" he asked.

"A friend of mine has a house up here," Nathan replied. "He's off on military duty for a while now, but I know how to get in."

"You humans are insane; breaking into other people's houses," Wolf stated with a faint laugh.

"Ay, it's not breaking in if you got permission first," he explained. "He told me if I was ever in the area and needed a place to stay, I was more than welcome to stop by. We can easily camp out here without anyone knowing."

"And he's not home?"

"Nope. He's off in… I think Kansas for some military training. He won't be home for a while."

"Perfect," Wolf purred, adjusting his large frame in the seat. Nathan expertly drove down the streets without drawing eyes to himself, and within moments was at the front door of a small suburban house.

Being it was the middle of October, and being at such a high altitude, the air was crisp and cool. They were predicting a fairly strong storm in the near future, which wasn't surprising being in the climate they were in. The overcast skies made it extremely gloomy, and the occasional gust of wind made the human feel chills down his spine. Luckily, his somewhat scruffy beard and his long-ish brown curly hair kept his head relatively warm in the cool climate.

Nathan pulled into the driveway and turned the car off, then looked around to see if anybody was watching.

"Alright, let me unlock the door first, then I'll come back."

He popped out of the car and walked up to the front door of the small white house. He found the key right where he expected it to be; not under the welcome mat to avoid the predictable cliché, but hiding underneath a small potted plant on the front porch. He removed the key, unlocked the door, and then shot back to the car in a heartbeat.

"Go inside and make yourself at home. I'll grab the gear from here and I'll be back in a second."

Wolf scooped up the crippled vulpine and rushed out of the car and into the small house quickly, making sure nobody saw them. Nathan pulled the large suitcase, the small red backpack, the tod's crutches, and the heavy black briefcase from the trunk of the car, and sped up into the house with the equipment. He set the gear off to the side of the small-ish living room, then sat on the couch up against the wall.

The house wasn't large, and it consisted of a living room with two medium sized couches and a TV mounted on the wall on the adjacent side of the front door, three bedrooms in a hallway on the same wall as the TV with a bathroom joining those rooms, and a decently sized kitchen on the other side near the front door as well. The walls were a calm cream color, which complemented the oak hardwood floors perfectly. There was also a large glass door overlooking a decently sized backyard deck on the opposite side of the front door. It wasn't big because Nathan's friend that purchased it thought ahead; knowing that he wouldn't be home for very much due to his training. Granted, it was a nice house, and it was a perfect place to unwind after a long weekend of harsh military training.

Nathan picked up the small black TV remote from the wooden coffee table in the middle of the room and flipped the forty inch TV on. As soon as the screen became visible, he groaned loudly as static and white noise filled the room.

"Yo Wolf," Nathan started, turning to the lupine who just threw on a heavier jacket from his bag. "When you said your scientists hacked into our satellites, did they hack _all_ of them?"

"I wouldn't bet against it," Wolf stated, flopping back on the other couch. "They probably killed all comms for you guys on this planet to avoid the news being spread. I doubt anyone here knows what's going on in the slightest."

"But, what about the National Guard we ran into before we pulled in here? They wouldn't be patrolling the streets unless something was up. Obviously they know something."

Wolf hummed and caressed his muzzle. "Anything of importance up here military wise?"

"Actually, there's the Aerospace Command center here not too far away," Nathan realized. "They might have been the ones to discover the start of the attack."

"Figures," Wolf grumbled, adjusting himself on the couch. He pulled up his arm and once again was messing with the transmitter's settings. Nathan's curiosity finally got the best of him as he turned his head towards him and questioned.

"You've been messing with that thing for ages, what are you even trying to do?"

"I've been trying to get a call through without alerting the guys on the ship," Wolf answered, not looking up from his wrist. "With my transmitter in pieces back at the Destroyer, and me finally disabling that damn tracking chip the CDF has everyone get, I can't seem to get my calls to work."

"How recently did you disable that?" Nathan asked with urgency.

"Chill out Nate, I got it off almost as soon as we took off last night," the gray lupine responded calmly. "They have no idea where we are at all. It's only a matter of telling them."

"I left them my number before we took off with Fox," Nathan blurted out, holding up his phone.

"Nate, if they call you, they can easily track you, ya know?" Wolf said with a hint of skepticism.

"Not anymore," Nathan said with a grin, tapping on his phone. "Just turned off the location services on it. We are completely under the radar."

"Nothing of yours can be tracked at all?"

"Not a single thing," Nathan answered with another grin. "All we need to do is wait for them to call us."

Wolf smiled faintly as he sank back down on the couch. Nathan shot up after a while and walked over to the lupine, then patted his knee that was sticking straight up off the couch.

"You hungry Wolf? I'm sure I can fix up a meal real quick."

"Yes, thank you," Wolf answered ravenously. Nathan nodded and disappeared into the kitchen, and as the human shut the kitchen door behind himself Wolf popped up and walked over to the vulpine on the other couch.

"You alright, Foxie?" Wolf asked, dropping down and grabbing the vulpine's upper arms.

"I- I'm…" Fox stuttered, then realized the human wasn't in earshot. He still kept his voice at a low whisper and tilted his ears backwards as he continued. "I'm scared Wolf. I don't know what's gonna happen."

"Neither do I, but we have to trust him," Wolf stated. "I know, I've got my doubts about him, but he knows what he's doing. We just gotta trust him."

"But… he almost…" Fox cringed, remembering the terrifying incident from last night. Wolf sighed and sat on the couch, bringing the kit in for a comforting hug.

"I was just as scared as you were, Fox," Wolf admitted, laying his muzzle on top of his head. "In all honesty, I didn't like him one bit after he did that. But… we gotta listen to him. I trust him, because he's our best bet of making it out of here alive."

"What do you mean?" Fox asked intently, making eye contact with the wolf.

Wolf sighed again and lowered his ears. "I have a funny feeling that none of us will make it out alive if we keep attacking. The humans will find a way to get us back if we don't stop."

Fox whimpered slightly as he buried himself in Wolf's loose fitting jacket.

_###_

_"Great Fox taking heavy fire!" Peppy shouted on the bridge, trying to lift the massive dreadnaught out of weapons range, but only succeeded in tilting the ship at a ten degree angle. Another rocket detonated on the hull of the ship just below the electrical room, rocking the ship violently._

_"Where the hell did they all come from?!" James questioned, trying his best to help the hare stabilize the ship. Missiles were now flying at the ship in every direction, hitting the hull repeatedly. The loud alarm blaring only added to the grim and intense moment that the mercenary group had to deal with._

_"Shit! Fighters 7 and 9 just went down!" a bridge attendant shouted, pointing down at the ground where two fireballs just erupted from. James growled again and took to the weapons controls._

_"Targeting the nearest base," James announced, focusing his aim towards a large ground structure. Tens of hundreds of rockets and bullets flowed from the building and pelted the warship, causing the alarms to blare louder and at a faster frequency._

_One of the rockets hit the plasma cannon right as it was charging, causing a massive explosion and shaking the bridge violently. The alarms instantly ceased blaring, as well as all of the controls becoming unresponsive. The Great Fox had taken her crippling blow._

_"DAD!" Fox shouted from the doorway as the warship slowly plummeted to the ground. The engines had completely failed, as well as the G-diffusers and other stabilizers. James stumbled out of his chair and rushed up to the kit, grabbing him and embracing him tightly._

_"I'm so sorry Fox," James said with tears in his eyes, watching as the ground quickly started becoming closer. "This is all my fault."_

_"Dad," Fox called out, struggling to stay standing because of the quickly plummeting ship._

_"I love you Fox," James cried softly, burying his face into the kit's fur. "Please forgive–"_

_###_

Fox cringed as the dreadnaught erupted into flames right as it impacted the ground. Wolf felt the kit's discomfort and embraced him even tighter than before.

"I'll protect you Fox," he said softly into the vulpine's ear. "I'll make sure to keep you safe. You're my brother. Brothers stick together, no matter what."

Fox removed his maw from Wolf's shoulder and looked at the lupine's grin, himself donning a slight smile as he felt another tear form in his emerald eyes.

"I love you Wolf," Fox blurted, then instantly fell back into Wolf's jacket. Wolf smiled even larger than before, feeling the sense of belonging and adoration again. He had lost all sense of it ever since Sheila had blown up at him, and he never felt that gap fully close itself until now. He did have someone who cared about him, and that was the best feeling the lupine could ever ask for.

"I love you too little bro," Wolf responded, fighting back a tear as he rubbed the back of the kit's mohawk. "I love you too."

* * *

_Odd one, you're never alone  
I'm here and I will reflect you  
Both of us basically unattached  
To anything, or anyone, unless we're pretending  
You live your life in your head  
Some call it imagination  
I'd rather focus instead on anything except  
What I'm feeling  
What I'm feeling, odd one…_

_Hey, It's gonna be ok  
Hey, were gonna laugh at this one day_

_*Odd One – Sick Puppies*_


	15. The Storm

**A/N: I've been waiting for the longest time to update this chapter in particular. It was finished for quite a long time, and I was waiting patiently for the opportunity to upload it. So far, this is my favorite chapter to date, and I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did.**

**Also, holy ship this is a hella long update. Over 11K words in total, and it covers a lot of material. I wanted to try and find a place to split it, but just could not find a way to do so... Guess you guys get an extra long update today! You're welcome! ;)**

**Anyway, being that this is a pretty long and important update, I'd love to hear what you guys have to say about it. I apologize for the sprawling length of it, but again, it's a really important update that you guys will not want to miss out on. So please, tell me what you guys think, cause there's a lot to think about in this one... ;)**

**Take care you guys; I'll see you next time**

* * *

**CMD Fortuna – Cornerian Military Destroyer 2 (Airspace of Des Moines, Iowa)**

"You see that?" a lupine scientist asked, pointing to a spot on his screen. "Got something brewing about 20 kilometers down. Looks pretty bad."

"What is it?" an avian pilot asked, inching closer to his screen.

"Low pressure system," the wolf answered, running his claw down a line on his map screen. "Pretty nasty one at that. Might interfere with our flight course."

"It's just rain," the white feathered avian assured, patting the small wolf's back. "We'll just tank through it. We'll be fine."

"Alright," he responded hesitantly. "What about our bomber squadrons though? They're supposed to hit that area down there."

"We're no exception. If we can fly through nasty storms on Zoness without any issues, we sure as hell can deal with a supercell here."

Almost as if on cue, a quiet buzzing alarm resounded on the ship to grab the occupants' attention, then a harsh, feminine voice came over the intercom system. "Assault squadron E, prep for immediate engagement. Please report to hangar three in five minutes."

"Obviously they aren't worried about the rain," the pilot said with a grin. "We've got some pretty talented pilots on board. Nothing we can't handle."

"You do make a point," the lupine agreed. "I'm just gonna keep an eye on this system; make sure it doesn't escalate any further."

"Sound's good," the pilot said, then spun around and started walking away. "I gotta prep for the assault. Oh, make sure Commander Corax knows the situation."

"Okay, sure thing. Stay safe Kurt," the lupine said as the relatively large avian walked out and towards his quarters. The white avian swiftly rushed towards his quarters and slipped inside, then started throwing on his equipment. They called for a swift bomb run of a few adjacent cities towards the middle of the nation, considering they found some pretty dangerous military bases in that area. It was only supposed to be a quick hit-and-run mission, which was the white feathered pilot known as Kurt Hawkins' favorite style of attack.

Hawkins was a pretty big pilot, standing at an even six feet and weighing roughly 180 pounds, but his size doesn't hinder his piloting skills. Granted, it was a Cornerian stereotype for the birds to become pilots, as well as the dogs becoming ground soldiers, and Kurt was no exception to the stereotypes. He enlisted in the flight academy at the youngest age possible, and at his current age of twenty-four, he's one of the more talented pilots the CDF have. Although he hasn't worked his way to a higher military position, he's got a shoo-in for the job once the opportunity arises. He rivaled James McCloud's piloting records which were set when the vulpine himself was enlisted in the academy several years ago, which was quite an accomplishment in and of itself.

Kurt stripped of his civilian red sweatshirt and dark blue slacks, and quickly donned his trademark CDF flight suit. Being that is was considerably dark outside due to the impending storm they were about to encounter, they had special reflective bright orange patches on their shoulders and boots just in case one of them went down and they had to find them. Granted, it made him look like a construction worker, but if it meant he would be safe if something unexpected happened, he'd quickly put it on in a heartbeat.

After slipping his pilot's helmet with his specially tinted visor over his blue eyes, he quickly activated the recently introduced CDF HUD panel. That was an experimental device that was put together by Vince's team a few months prior, which was the same team that invented the Cornerian translator and the hybrid body armor. The panel included a pale blue LED imagery system displayed on the visor itself which showed a small map that could point out locations of interest, a radio line that could support visible head views of up to six other pilots, as well as an experimental targeting device that would aid in aiming the Arwing's weapons. It was probably the most technologically advanced piece of equipment the Cornerian Army had behind the transmitters and the Arwing herself.

As soon as Kurt zipped up his dark green flight suit, the Destroyer herself shook slightly. The avian staggered a bit, then quickly rushed up to the window to see what the issue was. His beak opened wide at the extremely dark, almost black clouds that covered the sky, and the numerous flashes of blinding light and faint rumbles sounding like explosions off in the distance. There were also large droplets of water pelting his window relentlessly and making it almost impossible to see the ground below. He went to turn around to get to his door, but another, much harsher wave of jerky movements from the Destroyer made the avian loose his footing and fall onto his bedside.

The faint buzzing alarm returned again, as well as the feminine intercom voice. "Pilots, be advised; we are dealing with some minor weather interference, please stand by for further instructions."

Kurt ruffled his feathers as he stood up and brushed off his flight suit. "It's just a storm guys, chill out," he mumbled to himself as he opened the door to his quarters and slowly made his way down to the hangar. About a quarter of a way down the long hallway, the ship lurched again, this time much more violent than before as the avian was thrown up against the wall as if he had gotten hit by a car. He grunted as he inadvertently slammed his shoulder into the wall, then proceeded to rub the impact site of his arm as he carefully attempted to traverse the remainder of the hall.

A door opened in the hallway a few feet in front of Kurt, revealing a rust colored vulpine wearing the same clothing as the avian, just add a thin white jacket on top of the flight suit. The fox was much shorter than the avian, and his dark blue eyes matched Kurt's exactly. His jet black hair was slicked back behind his black tipped ears and ended just at the base of his head. He turned his cream colored muzzle to the avian and smiled.

"Some storm eh Kurt?" the tod asked with a smirk, adjusting his jacket.

"I'll say," Kurt responded, walking over to the vulpine. Right as the avian was about to put a wing on his shoulder, the ship unexpectedly jerked sideways, tilting the hallways at about a fifteen degree angle which tossed both pilots against the opposite wall. Kurt managed to keep his footing, but the rusty vulpine wasn't as lucky as he fell to the ground after forcefully impacting the wall.

"Dammit," the avian winced as his other shoulder started hurting just as bad, if not more than the other one. "You okay Brendan?"

"I'm alright," the fox replied, rolling over and attempting to stand up. Just as he made it to his knees, the ship vehemently rocked again, sending both pilots sprawling to the cold steel floor again. The alarm started blaring in a much louder and more annoying tone, and some red bulb lights on the ceiling began to bathe the hallway in a pale crimson light. A loud clap of thunder deafened the hall and made the vulpine Brendan cringe and cover his ears. The sound of heavy rain pounding against the cruiser sounded like a swarm of bullets pelting her frame relentlessly and attempting to puncture the hull.

"I don't think this is an ordinary storm," Kurt said skeptically, pulling the vulpine off the ground.

"No shit," Brendan grumbled, rubbing his black tinged forearms. "Come on, let's get to the hangar."

Kurt nodded, but right as he spun around a loud explosion reverberated in the cruiser, and another violent rocking spell plagued the Destroyer. Kurt was sent staggering beak first into the ground, while Brendan stumbled backwards onto his dark tipped tail. The avian groaned as he rubbed his beak and sat back up against the wall.

"You alright Hawkins?" Brendan asked, trying to hide his grin.

"Damn that hurt," Kurt said nasally, holding a wing over his beak. The ship unexpectedly tilted downward, rolling the pilots down the hall for a few feet before the cruiser finally leveled out again. After the ship had finally put herself back on course, Kurt shot up and rushed towards the hangar with Brendan hot on his tail feathers. They staggered in after another swift, jerky lurching movement from the ship and crawled towards a large raven.

"Dennis, what's– umph… going on?" Kurt asked, crouching a bit to keep his footing on the swaying ship. Dennis himself faltered a bit when the ship shifted again and responded.

"We've got ourselves into quite the mess," he said with the slight hint of a smirk. "From what I've heard, this large supercell formed practically right on top of us, and we couldn't pull away to get away from it in time. We just had to tank through it."

"But, why's Fortuna shaking so badly?"

"The electrical surges from this storm are messing with her G-diffusers," Dennis responded, putting a wing up against the wall for leverage. "Zoness storms don't have this bad of electrical surges, so we don't really have protection from something this strong. Granted, they're still working, because they're keeping us from falling to the surface right now, but the shaky turbulence shit doesn't get cleared up that easily."

"Is our raid still on?" Brendan questioned.

"Of course," Dennis replied, gesturing to the Arwing grid. "The storm shouldn't mess with your fighters. We've got some guys going out right now, so go ahead and get your ships warmed up."

As the raven was explaining, two Arwings on the farthest side of the ship disengaged from the holding grid and warmed up their G-diffusers for launch. As the fighters hovered in the air inside the hangar waiting for the instruments to warm up, the ship violently faltered again. This time, the Destroyer dipped downward significantly as an abnormally large lightning bolt struck one of the G-diffusers on the cruiser herself directly. As the cruiser plunged suddenly and violently due to the malfunctioning G-diffuser, the Arwings prepping for takeoff didn't abide by the same gravitational laws and stayed suspended in the same spot. The ceiling of the hangar came down on the Arwings harshly, causing them to crumple into the cruiser ceiling like soda cans in a can crusher and lose control. The one fighter closest to the far wall instantly erupted into flames as the fuselage sparked and vehemently jerked backwards; slamming into the back wall of the hangar and bathing it in a huge blaze of fire. The massive explosion within the hangar sent the pilots awaiting to climb into their fighters sailing through the hangar onto the unforgiving steel floors.

The other Arwing didn't have the same course after it buckled against the ceiling of the cruiser. The left G-diffuser malfunctioned as it drilled into the cruiser, and the angle that the Arwing collided with the cruiser sent the crippled fighter on a collision course with the other four Arwings still locked in place. The wing of the crushed Arwing sliced the lock on the closest docked fighter's grid, letting that one fall to the ground and leaving a giant indentation in the steel floor. After that fighter fell, the spiraling and sparking Arwing collided directly with the next Arwing in line, causing a massive eruption of flames and heat from the G-diffuser's fuselages; completely bathing the rest of the Arwing grids in extreme fires and temperatures. The third Arwing in line that had been unexpectedly severed from the locking grid grinded against the ground, creating a loud screeching metal sound that reverberated throughout the hangar as the cruiser attempted to level itself out. The Arwing then slipped out of the hangar with many of its instruments completely unresponsive.

The continued string of bad luck only escalated as the Arwing that inadvertently slid out of the hangar managed to acquire a collision course with one of the Destroyer's main G-diffusers right outside the hangar. Once the Arwing came into contact with that engine, it instantly detonated in a cataclysmic explosion, causing the Destroyer itself to continue faltering at a harsher and more significant pace. If the dip in the Destroyer was bad when the lightning bolt struck, then the plunge it was making as the engines began to fail made that first dip seem like a playground slide.

Kurt picked his head up and saw Brendan lying flat on his back and completely motionless. He carefully slid over to his unmoving frame and slapped his face a few times, letting a few drops of blood from a cut on his muzzle splatter on his flight suit and the floor.

"Brendan, come on, get up," Kurt pleaded, making the vulpine cough and stir momentarily. Kurt sighed as he noticed the vulpine was still alive, then lifted the small tod onto his shoulder in a fireman's carry and staggered out of the hangar. He quickly shot down the tilted halls and towards the other hangar on the other side of the Destroyer to find at least one way of getting off the ship alive.

"All hands, Fortuna compromised; brace for impact!"

Kurt ignored the ill-minded intercom message and continued to stumble around the halls towards the other hangars with the unresponsive vulpine on his shoulder. The ship was indeed losing altitude, and fast. The avian could feel the gravity of the compromised Destroyer weigh him down and try to prevent him from getting to his destination, but that didn't deter his will to survive. He managed to climb into the second hangar on the opposite side of the cruiser, and exhaled in relief when he saw an open and unoccupied Arwing that was awaiting takeoff. Kurt managed to throw the fox into the back of the fighter, then slipped into the cockpit and primed it for launch.

Kurt noticed that a piece of smoldering Arwing remains were leaning up against the far wall of the hangar with a fire just underneath the right G-diffuser. Another closer look revealed that the fire was just next to the G-diffuser's fuselage, and it was another violent explosion waiting to happen. He quickly tried to disengage the fighter, but the locking mechanism had malfunctioned due to the electrical surges of the storm and kept the Arwing locked in place.

"Fuck. Come on; let me out!"

The Destroyer only progressed in steepness, inadvertently tilting the Arwing towards the ceiling as it stayed suspended in the lock. Pretty soon, Kurt's straight shot turned into a difficult maneuver as he needed to instantly tilt his fighter down about twenty-five degrees before he could throttle out of the compromised frigate.

The smoldering Arwing in the corner finally detonated, shaking the avian in the cockpit as he heard something snap above him. He instantly felt gravity acting against his fighter and impulsively pushed the joystick forward and pushed the throttle to the floor. He needed to instantly travel over one hundred feet in his fighter before he was out of clearance of the hangar walls that were quickly caving in on him. Right before the Arwing cleared the hangar, a piece of the hangar doors came unhinged right at the perfect moment and sliced half of Kurt's left wing off of his fighter. He cursed and tried to stabilize the fighter, but inadvertently put it into a spiral as the Arwing inched closer to the ground below with no indication of it letting up.

"Oh, you've gotta be–"

* * *

**Peterson Air Force Base – Colorado Springs, Colorado**

**_CRACK_**

Sheila bolted awake as a loud clap of thunder shook her dim prison cell and rattled the iron bars on the far side of her bed. She would've screamed or yelped, but with her immense pain she was still struggling with, all she did was let out a quiet whimper and curl up on her rock-solid bed.

It was a cold cell and an even colder cot, but at least she was more adequately clothed. She had a bright orange jumpsuit with a few words and numbers she didn't understand covering her shivering and aching frame. They had to improvise a tail hole for her by slicing a small incision in the rear of the suit for her to just barely squeeze her light copper tail through. She also had to go barefoot as the humans stole her boots and didn't have anything to improvise for covering her white furred dog-like feet-paws.

She felt awful. Not only had she been beaten and interrogated to tears, but she had been physically abused _twice_. _Twice_ the man had stormed into the room and abused her relentlessly. His anger was limitless and unbounded, and she was absolutely sure he violated numerous prisoner-of-war rules. He had mentioned that the rules didn't matter anymore, but there was still a moral law that she knew well and that he had failed to uphold.

It made her feel even worse knowing that there was no way of her to stop him. She could only sit there, bound tightly to a metal chair while that demented human had his way with her. She was awake for the entire ordeal too. Every smack, every punch, and every illicit and unlawful act conducted against her still stung hours after it had been over and done with. She felt like a tool; _an animal_ as the human called her, and felt absolutely worthless on top of it all.

It was her own fault too, and she knew it. She was practically kicking herself knowing that she caused her own torture. She left her Destroyer without authorization or a productive motive behind it. She violated specific rules that were set to protect her, and now she had to deal with the hell that ensued from it.

If the hell could catch up to her.

She managed to calm down from the sudden clap of thunder, then sat up and stretched her arms. She licked the hole in her teeth line where the human had ripped the canine tooth out, making sure it had finally stopped gushing blood, then stood up and padded over to the thick bars that were on the opposite side of the room. She managed to stick her muzzle through the bars and whimpered audibly, catching the attention of one of the prison guards.

"Whada'ya want?" the guard asked loudly in an acidic tone, walking over to the imprisoned husky. Sheila placed a paw over her stomach and crouched down, making a slight growling sound in the back of her throat. After the soldier stood there and did nothing for a few seconds, she glanced upward and stared intently at the guard, shaking the hair out of her eyes. The guard let out a slight grin, looked in both directions around himself to check and see if anyone was within earshot, then nodded.

"Yeah, I'll get you some food," he whispered, then walked off to the side and towards the doors on the left side of the room. About three or four minutes later, the guard came back with a tray that had a few suspicious looking morsels on it, and shoved the tray underneath the bars.

"Please don't tell anyone I did this," the guard pleaded in a low voice, watching the female anthro husky snatch up the tray and jump up onto her bed. Her tail was flicking wildly as she pulled the plastic fork out of something that looked like mashed potatoes and started wolfing down the food like it was her job. In between large bites of food, Sheila nodded and gave a half-assed smile to the guard. The guard gave his own smile back and left the husky to scarf down the food in privacy.

"How can these humans eat this?" Sheila whispered to herself, choking down another bite. She kept struggling with the food due to her missing canine tooth, but she was absolutely starving and managed to fight through the pain. For her, the food tasted terrible, but it was a godsend for her since she hadn't eaten since before the first attack the day prior. She felt significantly weaker, which was probably why she couldn't break her bonds in the interrogation room when she was stuck in there.

Once the food was nothing more than crumbs on the tray, she silently laid the tray on her bedside, then walked back over to the bars and started grunting and groaning, clawing at the metal bars as she sat on the ground. The same guard caught her noises and quickly rushed up to the light copper husky.

"What's up now?" the guard asked. Sheila instantly noticed the guard had a handgun holstered around his leg.

_Perfect. I know you just helped me, but I'm sorry; I have to do this._

Sheila quickly pounced upward, grabbing the guard's jacket and forcefully jerking him into the bars. The human instantly faltered in surprise, and as he tried to regain his bearings after being stunned she instantly lashed out with her other paw and chopped the back of the man's knee. He fell all the way down on the floor, allowing the copper husky to swipe the guard's weapon from his pants. Her first shot with the weapon tore through the guard's left eye, instantly quieting his agonized groaning.

She instantly felt accustomed with the handgun after that one shot. The recoil was a thing she needed to get used to, considering Cornerian weaponry has virtually no recoil at all, but the accuracy of the weapon was unparalleled with anything she had fired before. She took aim again and shot right through the lock on her cell. The husky needed no extra moment as she instantly bolted out the cell and made a beeline for where the guard had brought her the food from.

Sheila silently crept around the numerous rooms of the prison without drawing any attention from the guards. She knew there were cameras around, so she had to make her escape quickly to avoid grabbing the attention of the other guards, and silent for the same reason as well. The gun's discharge echoed throughout the halls as well, so that was another reason to bolt from the human prison as quickly as possible. She located a map hung up on the wall, and quickly scanned it to try and find the nearest exit. As soon as she located the exit, a deep voice shouted out faintly behind her where she was previously locked up.

"That damn dog escaped! Get after her!"

Sheila bolted from her spot and silently rushed through the winding hallways with the security guards hot on her light copper tail. She spun around a corner and instantly raised the handgun up, putting two shots into two guards' skulls. As their corpses fell to the floor, the husky vaulted over them and spun down another hallway. Only a few more feet and she was home free.

The guards began to open fire as she wound the second to last corner before the final exit. They didn't care if she survived or not; she was hostile and claiming lives one after another as she continued to run for the exit.

Sheila took another tight corner, practically slipping on the slick floor because of her padded feet and put her tail up against the wall. There were a few guards closing off her intended destination, and she needed to remove them from their position. She took a deep breath, then poked her light furred muzzle and the black handgun around the corner and fired.

Two guards instantly fell to the ground, while a third and a forth crumpled down and yelled out in agonized pain. One after another, Sheila expertly and efficiently took down her opposition with barely any difficulty in doing so. She was taking advantage of her training in a good way; easily eliminating her opposition like it was a training exercise. Right as the last one fell, Sheila noticed the gun was completely dry and had no shots remaining. She threw the weapon at the computer at the main desk, which toppled over onto the gate mechanism and opened the gate for her escape. She swiped another handgun from one of the human corpses as she shot out of the building and into the chilly, rainy, suburban Colorado neighborhood.

* * *

**General Pepper's Flagship**

"You seeing this too Arti?" Vince asked, pointing at his screen. The blue jay sitting next to him nodded in approval.

"Destroyer 2 has been screaming those alarms for five minutes now. What's going on over there?"

Vince only grunted as he skimmed through the information on his dual screens and attempted to put two and two together. He suddenly gasped and tilted his paper-thin screen towards the avian next to him.

"Here," Vince pointed at a section of the screen where the Destroyer supposedly was. "Massive low pressure system formed literally right in front of them. Might just be dealing with a bit of weather interference."

"Is it a supercell?" Arthur asked, using his transmitter to copy the holographic information to his own station next to the white vulpine.

"Doesn't look like it; just a really strong electrical storm," Vince answered, still eyeballing the radar on his screen. The precipitation indicators had finally loaded, showing a long band of a dark red indicator, with large patches of yellow and green indicators behind it. Those colors determined the severity and intensity of the precipitation; red being the heaviest and most dangerous. Vince growled softly as he continued to gaze at his screen.

"This area they're in is also known for forming nasty storms too. These plains are breeding grounds for supercell storms and tornadoes because of the different temps in air masses that collide with each other right at the perfect time. You'd think I was a meteorologist with all the stuff I know about this."

"This planet has tornadoes too?" Arthur asked with an eyebrow raised, covering his beak to hide his grin.

"Must be so," Vince said, completely unfocused on speaking. He zoomed out his radar screen, then gasped at another site off to the left side of his screen.

"Looks like there's another storm over where we tracked Sheila to as well," Vince said as he pointed at an area close to the mountain range, with those same colored indicators swarming that area. He picked up his head and shouted across the room. "Someone let that search party know not to go out there to look for her just yet. Nasty storm would probably interfere with progress."

"Sure thing Vince," a voice yelled back from the other side of the room. Arthur hummed as he looked at his screen again.

"When did you find Sheila?"

"Just a few hours ago," Vince answered. "Used the humans' satellites and her tracking chip to triangulate her location. We had a plan to get a search party to look for her, but we can't now because of this weather."

The alarms from the second Destroyer suddenly intensified, cutting the vulpine off and sending the room into a state of confusion.

"Why is the Destroyer sending so many alert messages?" Travis asked in the station behind the arctic fox. "Are they really having issues with an electrical storm?"

"They shouldn't be," Vince answered. "Looking at this radar here, this storm isn't as bad as the squalls that can form on Zoness, and those Destroyers have flown through those storms with ease."

Arthur hummed and rubbed his short beak. "How high is the electrical readings on this storm?"

Travis furiously started typing at his station, but the arctic fox in front of him was just a few steps ahead. Vince gasped at the number revealed on his screen.

"Holy shit," Vince gapped. "This storm has almost triple the electrical readings of the highest recorded level on Zoness! What the hell are they doing just tanking through that storm?"

"Obviously something's going wrong," Arthur stated, continuing to gaze at his screens. "They've had these alerts for eight minutes now."

"Someone contact them," Vince commanded, raising his muzzle upwards.

"I've already tried," Travis responded humbly. "Those electrical currents are interfering with our comms lines."

"Damn," Vince swore, lightly rapping his claws on the table. "I'd love to know what's going on up there…" he mumbled to himself, then felt his transmitter buzz. He exhaled through his nose once he noticed an orange vulpine on the caller ID. He pulled his specially designed green tinted eyepiece from his pocket, wired it through his sleeve and into the transmitter, and then accepted the call after he slipped the device around his snowy white vulpine ear and lowered the microphone attachment.

"What James?" he questioned impatiently, fondling his white muzzle.

"Vince, I need you to track someone for me," James requested, causing Vince to roll his eyes slightly.

"Well, I'm sorry, I can't do it right now. I'm a little busy at the moment," Vince explained, continuing to eye his screens. The eyepiece he had thrown over his right eye started enhancing data on the screens with small and numerous holograms, making it easier for the vulpine to deal with the copious amounts of information on his screens. However, there was so much information that was popping out at him that he eventually was swimming in holograms.

"It won't take any more than a few seconds. Please, I need this."

"Ugh, fine. What?" Vince asked scornfully, practically drowning in the holographic information.

"I need a location on Wolf. We're speculating he's with Fox, and I need to know where he is so we can track him down."

"Wolf with Fox?" Vince asked with an eyebrow raised. "How do you know?"

"Alex called me last night, told me that Wolf stole a Husky Arwing, and when we went to rescue Fox we saw that same Arwing in the parking lot near the building he was supposedly in. We'd use Fox's transmitter but that one is in pieces now. We're using Wolf because he's got that tracker on him."

"Alright, one sec James," Vince said, then had his eyepiece display the map tracker for their pilots. He poked his paw around, making the hologram scroll down to where Wolf's name was, but saw the word 'disconnected' under where his coordinates would have been. His eyes narrowed as he angled his maw towards the microphone dangling from his eyepiece. "Says here Wolf disconnected his. Sorry buddy."

"How does he disconnect his?" James asked with an acidic tone.

"He must've gotten another transmitter to disable it."

"Well, can't you track the transmitter he used?"

"We could, if we knew which one he was using," Vince explained while drumming his paw on the table impatiently. "We can only track the transmitters if we know the serial, or whoever was commissioned the device itself. Looks as though Wolf's transmitter was destroyed too, because that one isn't popping up either."

"Damn," James grumbled. "How about trying–"

"James, I can't _try_ anything right now," Vince half-shouted. "I'm busy trying to track Sheila and our Destroyer right now; I can't help you buddy. I'm sorry."

"Wait, Sheila?" James questioned. "Where's she?"

"We tracked her to a place up in the mountains. Her ship must've gotten shot down, but our search party is on hold right now because there's an electrical storm in that area."

"So? Can't our Arwings–"

"They would, but there's another storm on our other Destroyer right now and they're _apparently_ having issues with it," he grumbled skeptically with a sour inflection, shrugging his shoulders and flicking his paws around his face slightly in frustration. "We don't want our Arwings getting damaged because of a storm."

James sighed as he realized he couldn't argue against the arctic fox. However, one of James' spontaneous ideas came to mind right at the perfect moment.

"Where is Sheila exactly?" James asked. Vince lifted an eyebrow as he responded.

"About halfway in sector seventeen. Why?"

James exhaled and waited a few seconds before explaining. "I'm gonna find her."

"What? Why?"

"Don't you get it Vince? The only way Wolf would have been able to turn his tracker off without _his_ transmitter would be if Sheila was there with them. If I can track her down, I can track Fox and Wolf too."

Vince faintly drummed his claws on the table as he adjusted his eyepiece around his ear. "I like the idea James, but that'll have to wait. There's a nasty storm over there right now. We need you to stay on the Great Fox to stay safe."

"Vince, that's my kit out there," James deadpanned. "I'm not leaving him alone longer than I have to. I'm going out there now."

"No, James, please stay there," Vince pleaded. "I don't want you getting hurt."

"I'll be fine, Vinny," James assured. "It's just rain. If I get there before it clears up, I can easily fly through rain."

"Seriously, James, don't go out there. You don't know if he's actually there or not."

"I know he's out there," James reiterated, getting angrier by the syllable. "I'm getting him away from those damn humans."

"Please, just wait a little bit until the storm clears up. You don't know what you'll get yourself into."

"I'm not telling you again, Vince," James stated impatiently. "I'm going out there."

"James, just–"

"I'M NOT LEAVING MY KIT ALONE OUT THERE!" James barked angrily. "Dammit Vince, you're no different than the rest of them! You don't care what happens to him, just as long as the missions are successful without any casualties! I thought you cared!"

"I do c–"

"Bullshit!" James snapped harshly. "You know what? Fuck it! I'm going out there to rescue him, whether you agree with me or not. I don't care if I'm putting myself at risk; he's all I have anymore. He's worth the risk. If I lose him, I'll have absolutely nothing. He's the only one I have left, and I'm not gonna let those aliens take away the last thing I love. Goodbye Vince."

James abruptly hung up the call, making Vince growl softly and slouch in his seat with a paw over his forehead.

What was he thinking? Was he really going to risk his life in a nasty storm just to try and attempt a rescue mission that for all he knew wasn't true? Maybe Sheila was down there, but he couldn't prove she was with Wolf. He couldn't even prove that Wolf was with Fox. They didn't know anything, and he just seemed to act on impulse.

Vince's blue eyes shot wide open as the last word echoed in his head.

"Impulse," Vince muttered under his breath. Was that what it was? Was that the answer for their questions about this war? Was this an impulsive war? Now that he thought about it, the impulse option started making more and more sense. It was true; they had acted on impulse.

_Wolf was right._

Everything Wolf had said at Pepper's house started making more sense. They had acted on impulse, automatically assuming it was an attack because of wanting revenge. They threw rationality out the window. They completely disregarded peace and just thrown war into this world. They never sat down and thought. Whenever they did, they were just so wrapped up in blind rage that the first option that came to mind was a retaliatory measure. They never took into consideration the other side's argument. It was true; they had instigated this planet without a solid reason, and they were about to deal with harsh repercussions.

All of a sudden, Wolf's warning about not listening to him made much more sense. He knew what was going to end up happening, and he knew that it was wrong. No wonder he had thrown his opinion on the table, and backed it up even though everyone else had disagreed. He knew he was right although no one backed him up. He was just trying to help everyone. His emotions, his attitude, his actions; they all suddenly made sense.

That's why Wolf was presumed to be helping the humans. He wanted everyone to know he was going to side with the side that was right, even if it was going against everything he loved. He was going against his family, his friends, his entire planet, and everyone on said planet just to prove his point. He was making sure that the pro-war officers knew that they had the wrong idea.

Pepper's decision was wrong. His own decision was wrong. Everyone needed to know. Pepper specifically needed to be told what the actual situation was, and be told that his choice to start the war was an impulsive decision. Impulse was the key to everything.

"Vince!" a German shepherd shouted, holding up a dark paw. "I've got a camera on the Destroyer!"

"How?" Vince questioned, shaking himself out of his thoughts, then shot up and walked over to the canine.

"I tapped into a security camera on the roof of a nearby building. I've got a clear view of her."

Vince wound the large desks and came up behind the small-ish German shepherd, then his maw opened wide at the sight the camera was displaying. The camera was heavily watered down and noticeably pixelated, but Vince could still make out a large Cornerian frigate on the screen. The sky around it was almost as dark as the cruiser itself, and bright flashes of light popped up spontaneously and sporadically around the cruiser. It looked perfectly fine, except for the large orange blaze pouring out from the hangar on the side.

"What's going on?" Vince asked with urgency.

"Looks to me that something happened in hangar three. Maybe a stray lightning strike hit an Arwing fuselage. You know how volatile those things are."

"No shit, Brock, _I_ designed them," Vince retorted, inching closer to the screen with eyes narrowed. "They shouldn't conduct electricity though. They're made of specific materials that repel electrical currents. That's one of the reasons why the CDF started using them for everything now was because of their reliability and safety. Why do you think they dropped the dangerous and less efficient Cornerian fighters for these Arwings?"

Right as the shepherd Brock was about to throw in his two cents, something slipped out of the hangar with it sparking wildly.

"The hell was that?" Arthur asked, popping up behind the white vulpine.

Brock shrugged. "Was that another Ar–"

**_BOOM_**

The Destroyer's G-diffuser instantly detonated, shrouding it in flames and smoke as the unknown object got sucked into the engine and ignited the fuselage. As soon as the massive black cloud dissipated, the flaming Destroyer dipped down and kept inching dangerously close to the ground. The scientists could only stare at the screen helplessly and silently with unhinged jaws, watching the compromised cruiser plummet.

The seconds stretched on. Painfully long seconds turned to minutes as the cruiser continued to drop without any indication of it letting up. Two full minutes after the G-diffuser combusted, the cruiser finally impacted the ground. Even at the crazy distance the camera was away from the cruiser, it still shook violently as the cruiser burst into a cataclysmic explosion and shook the ground with the force of a 9.2 magnitude earthquake. That was an estimated 100 tons of blazing Cornerian engineering slamming into the ground and erupting into a massive fireball reminiscent of nuclear bombs minus the radiation.

Vince ripped the eyepiece off of his ear and carelessly tossed it onto the table, not breaking his stare on the fireball. "Where did that cruiser come down?" he asked emotionlessly, still absolutely stupefied of the explosion.

"Ten kilometers east of the target city," Brock responded in his own stoic voice. Vince lowered his ears until they were practically flat, then spoke in a hollowed voice.

"I'll get Pepper right now," Vince announced, slowly padding over to the doors. The entire room was still deathly silent because no one dared make a sound as the immensely depressing incident took full hold of the scientists. Right as Vince grabbed the handle, he cranked his head around to the room.

"Keep an eye on that storm. Once it clears up, get another search party out there and scavenge the area around the impact site. If there are any survivors, bring them in."

A few scientists nodded as Vince spun back around and stepped out as the door closed behind his white tail.

* * *

**Colorado Springs, Colorado**

"It's just a little bit of thunder, Fox," Nathan chuckled, sitting on the couch near the vulpine who had just buried himself in a large light blue flannel blanket that was draped over the smaller couch. Fox was trembling noticeably, faintly shaking the couch he was lying on.

"I hate thunderstorms," Fox announced pitifully, muffled by the blanket and the heavy rain pelting the windows of the house. Nathan patted the vulpine's blanketed frame with a smile.

"It's alright," Nathan assured. "Colorado storms are nothing compared to the storms we can get back at Rockford. You'll be fine."

Fox poked his head up from the blanket with his ears folded behind his head. Nathan couldn't keep a straight face as Fox looked like the definition of a normal feral red fox on Earth.

"A- Are you sure?" Fox asked in a shaky voice. Another clap of thunder made the vulpine tense up and bury himself back into the blanket. Nathan smirked slightly and sank back on the couch.

"You can trust me, right?"

"I dunno, can I?" Fox asked in a sudden hostility-filled voice. Nathan cocked his head slightly with a startled expression.

"What's wrong Fox?" he asked softly. Fox shivered slightly as the man inched a bit closer. "Is… something bothering you buddy?"

"Just leave me alone," he mumbled under the cover of the blanket. Nathan instantly turned his head and raised an eyebrow over to the lupine on the other couch.

"He's still a little freaked out about what you did yesterday," Wolf said, almost drowned out entirely by the sound of rain outside. Nathan exhaled a bit and turned to the vulpine.

"Hey, don't worry about that," he assured calmly. "There is no way I'd actually do that to you. I mean, why would I kill any of you guys? I didn't do anything wrong that wasn't my fault, and neither did either of you that wasn't yours either. I told you Fox; I'll protect you. I won't let anything bad happen to you."

Fox's trembling stopped, but his head did not poke out of the blanket. Nathan patted at his right pocket on his jeans and spoke up.

"Ya know what, Fox? I want you to have something," Nathan said, resulting in the vulpine hesitantly tossing the heavy flannel aside and scooting closer to the human.

"What is it?" Fox asked skeptically. Nathan grinned as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a thin gold necklace with a small charm hanging from the bottom in that same color of glimmering gold.

"It's a necklace with a cross," Nathan explained, unhooking the chain and fitting it around the vulpine's furry neck. "My father gave me this necklace many years ago on my first day of combat. For me, It was a good luck charm; a symbol of bravery and dedication. I wore this every day when I was in combat, and it kept me safe."

Fox used one claw and lifted the small, sleek gold cross on the bottom of the necklace up towards him. The light from the lamp in the corner of the room reflected off of it, casting an almost unnoticeable glint on the vulpine's cream colored muzzle. Fox wrapped his paw around the cross and looked back at the human.

"Why are you giving me this?" Fox asked.

"Exactly for the same reason I had it," Nathan responded, putting an arm around the humanized fox. "A symbol for bravery and dedication. If something happens, just keep that in your mind and have courage and faith. If you truly believe, it'll keep you safe, just like it did to me. If I can't do my job of keeping you safe, then you need to just have faith that you will. That's what I did a long time ago."

"Did you have a lot of faith?"

Nathan glanced at the necklace, then lifted his head back up and smiled at the tod. "Yes… I did. I still do. I wouldn't be here right now if I didn't have faith. I just had to trust my instincts."

"That's what my dad tells me," Fox said, pawing the necklace around his neck.

_Of course he does,_ Nathan thought with a faint chuckle.

"He tells me to trust in myself and the things around me. Is… is that what faith is?" Fox asked intently.

"For the most part," Nathan answered, patting the fox's back. "Faith, trust, and instincts. Those three things are what my life is centered around. If you can do the same with your life, Fox, you will be just fine. I promise."

Fox tensed up as another crack of thunder sounded from outside the house, but he didn't completely flip out like he had done before. Fox smiled a toothy smile as his tensions with the human melted away, lunging forward and hugging the human unexpectedly. Nathan was caught off guard momentarily, then shrugged his head and returned the friendly gesture.

"Thank you Nate," Fox said whole-heartedly. "And thank you for this," he added, holding up the small, gold cross. "It's beautiful. I'll take good care of it."

"Just remember what I told you about it, m'kay?" Nathan reminded. Fox nodded with another grin plastered on his muzzle.

"I will," Fox assured, then held out his orange furred arms again. Nathan chuckled and leaned into the vulpine's grasp. They stayed in that position for a few long moments until another voice's chuckling caught their attention.

"Now only if my kind could see this," Wolf stated, popping up from the other couch and trotting up to the other two frames. "They'd actually sit down and think about this situation."

"No kidding," Nathan said, scratching his beard. "I'm still in shock that your government acted on blind rage and not actual facts."

"So was I," Wolf said, sitting on the table in the middle of the room. "Apparently the word 'forgiveness' is not in their vocabulary."

"I still want to see if this is true," Nathan stated, eying the phone laying on the couch next to him. "I want to call my buddy, but like you said, we can't get an actual call through without them finding us."

"Oh well," Wolf said with a shrug. "We'll just have to sit tight and wait for something to happen."

Nathan nodded and stood up off the couch. "If that's the case, we'll need more supplies. Food, water, the necessities; I'll have to go out and get more," he stated, grabbing the car keys off the table. "You two stay here and stay hidden. Don't answer the door for anyone. I'm the only one with the key. If anyone comes to the door and it's not me, let me know," he commanded, poking at his transmitter. Wolf nodded in approval.

"Got it. We'll be right here."

Nathan smiled as he grabbed a thin jacket from the coat rack and stepped out into the rainy suburban neighborhood. He quickly slipped into the silver car and within moments he had a beeline towards the city.

It was starting to get dark, so he needed to make his trip quick. Granted, it was only a quarter to eight at night in suburban Colorado Springs, but the storm darkened the sky significantly. He needed to grab the supplies and get back to his house before it got too dark. He had no idea what was going to happen, so he needed to spend as little time as he could away from the anthros in his house.

As Nathan drove around a winding road on the outskirts of the city, he noticed a swarm of flashing red and blue lights off to the side of the road about a quarter mile down. Perplexed, he slowed significantly and deviated from his lane to allow the officers to work. Along with five or six small squad cars, there was a massive flatbed truck off to the shoulder of the road. Right as Nathan was about to pass by harmlessly, a police officer held up his arm and signaled for the driver to stop.

Nathan rolled his window down in the rain as the officer approached. "Everything alright, officer?" he asked, scratching at his beard.

"Where are you headed?" the officer asked firmly.

"Just heading to the store for a few things. Is that alright?"

"Of course," the officer replied. "We're just trying to avoid any crowds gathering around here, so we're regulating who can travel around here and who can't."

"Why? What's up?" Nathan asked.

"Just a little accident," the officer stated. "Nothing of importance to see. Take care sir."

"Um… thanks. You too officer," Nathan said hesitantly, rolling his window up and continuing down the street. As he sped away, he noticed a crane off in the ditch lifting a large blue tarped object from the ditch. He instantly knew it was too large to be any kind of civilian car, but he still didn't know what it was.

"That was strange," he murmured to himself, continuing down the street in silence since the radio broadcasts were down as well. Wolf was right, they took out any and all satellite related communications; civilian or not. It was kind of boring, driving down a deserted country street in silence, only hearing the loud pounding of rain up against the car and faint rumbles of thunder that had dissipated somewhat since the storm had started.

As he continued down the road, his headlight illuminated something humanly reflective way off to the shoulder of the road, practically in the ditch. He again deviated from his lane to avoid the person in the ditch, but as soon as he saw the figure lift a weapon up to its chest he gasped and instantly slammed on the brakes. The figure with the weapon quickly shot out of the ditch and rushed to the window. Nathan couldn't believe his eyes; the humanly figure had two pointy canine ears and a muzzle.

The soggy humanized canine slipped inside of Nathan's car with the black handgun raised to his head. "Get out," the canine growled in a feminine voice, but stopped in her tracks as she noticed the pale blue glow of the transmitter on his wrist. "Where the hell did you get that?" she questioned, not releasing her hold on the weapon.

"Woah, wait a sec, don't shoot," Nathan pleaded, causing the husky's muzzle to open wide at what she was hearing.

"You… Can you understand me?" she asked, loosening her grip on the handgun.

"Well yeah, I've got your translator on," Nathan responded, holding his right arm out so the husky could see the device. "This is what you people have, right?"

"How… How'd you get that? And, how'd you know who we are? Who are you?" she fired off each question rapidly with an eyebrow raised.

"Hold on, one at a time," Nathan said. "I got this from one of your kind, and you guys are the… Cornerians, right?"

The light copper husky's muzzle opened wide again. "How… What the… Who are you?"

"My name's Nathan," he announced, holding out his hand. The husky backed up and raised the handgun to his head again, contracting her muzzle in an intimidation attempt.

"Hey! Get away from me!" she commanded, shaking in fear. "I'll- I'll kill you!"

"But _I_ won't," he added, keeping his hand out. "I promise, I won't hurt you… What's your name?"

The husky looked at the hand, then back at her weapon. She exhaled through her nose as she eventually lowered the gun into her lap and grasped the human's hand. "Sheila."

Nathan tried not to make an overly noticeable disgusted sound as he felt the husky's soggy paw in his hand. "Sheila… cute name."

Sheila blushed a bit through her wet fur and grinned slightly. "Oh, uh… thanks," she giggled slightly. "But… still, how do you know who we are?"

Nathan chuckled as he shifted back in his seat and put his hands on the wheel. "I've got a few of your kind back at my house. I'll take you back there so you can get yourself cleaned up. Go ahead and settle down, we'll be there shortly."

Sheila shut the door behind her and adjusted her light copper tail in the human's car. She exhaled as the car spun around and took off back in the opposite direction. As Nathan drove by the strange crash scene, Sheila instantly donned a nasty scowl and faintly held up her middle claw at the officers surrounding the scene.

"What was that all about?" Nathan asked with a grin.

"That was my ship that those asshole humans shot down," she growled, then instantly turned her head back and lowered her ears. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to call you that."

"No, it's ok," Nathan assured, glancing back at the crash scene in his mirror. "I personally don't agree with their reasoning behind some things anymore. Act on impulse more often than not."

"Impulse," Sheila repeated silently, not drawing the human's attention. "Seems as though everybody runs on impulse now." The husky raised her voice as she lifted her head back up. "Who is at your house?"

"Two guys named Fox McCloud and Wolf O'Donnell; you know either of–"

"ARE YOU FUCKIN' SERIOUS?!" Sheila practically screamed.

"Woah! What, do you know them?"

"Of course I do!" she quickly retorted. "Wolf's my boyfri–" she started but immediately cut herself off and clamped her muzzle shut with eyes still wide. Nathan could faintly detect a pale rosy pigment brewing under the husky's soggy face fur

"You're Wolf's girlfriend?" he asked with his own wide eyed stare. Sheila slowly nodded as her pale blue eyes lowered.

"Well… I… I don't know," Sheila stuttered. "I mean… we were for a while, but… I don't think he is anymore," she explained sadly, tilting her ears back. Nathan exhaled a bit then made another quick glance to the passenger.

"Did something happen?" he asked.

"I… I blew up at him…" she stated, trying to hold back her tears. "I had a rough first mission, and I was on edge for the rest of the day… I don't know what got into me… Wolf, he… he tried to help me… and I pushed him away."

Nathan opened his mouth but a quiet sob from the husky cut him off. "I called him out… I criticized him… I called him heartless…" she eventually broke down and cried softly, sobbing into her arms.

"Shh, Sheila, it's alright," Nathan assured. "I'm sure he'll forgive you if you–"

"No, he won't," she deadpanned in between sobs. "He won't forgive me after what I said to him."

"Of course he will," he said calmly. "I mean, no offense, but you're a mess. If he saw you like that, he'd know it would be a genuine apology."

Sheila sniffed and brought her muzzle out of her arms. "Do you think so?"

"Of course," Nathan smiled. "Sheila, you are absolutely beautiful. Gorgeous. Wolf would be stupid not to accept a heart-filled apology from you if you really do mean it."

Sheila smiled even larger as her face started warming up. "Really?" she asked sweetly. "You really think I'm beautiful?"

Nathan smiled back and nodded. "You'd look even better once you get freshened up. When we get back to my place you can clean yourself up a bit, and I'm pretty sure my friend's sister's clothes would fit you."

"Wow… t-thank you so much," the husky said with overwhelming gratitude. "W-why are you being so nice to me?"

Nathan shrugged. "Why not?"

"Well, we're basically attacking you for no reason," Sheila explained with her ears tilted back. "I… I was one of the people that went along with the attack. I agreed. I thought–"

"The satellite?" Nathan butted in. "Our satellite?"

Sheila jerked her head around to make eye contact. "You know?"

"Not really," he replied, scratching his beard. "I just know what's going on, not why it's even happening in the first place. Anyway, please continue, Sheila."

Sheila nodded slowly. "I was one that thought it was a missile too… I was so stupid to think like that though. I could've prevented all of this shit if I would've just opened my eyes and saw what was really going on."

"So, you didn't agree with Wolf at first?"

"No… And I was so stupid not to. He was right, but I didn't listen."

"And that's what started your fight with him?"

Sheila sighed and drooped her head. "That's exactly why… I refused to back him up, and I ended up exploding at him because of how pissed I was. I was the dense one… I was the one not being rational… I'm the heartless son of a bitch."

"Woah, Sheila, don't say that," Nathan quickly pleaded.

"But it's true," she argued, feeling the tears starting to come back. "I called him all of those things, but in reality, _I'm_ what I called him! Dammit, I broke his heart Nathan!"

"Hey, it's ok," Nathan interjected calmly. "Once we get back to my place you two can sort things out. Honestly, I'd bet Wolf would be pretty excited to see you."

"I hope so," Sheila mumbled, slouching back in her seat and closing her eyes. Nathan coughed slightly and glanced at the husky's orange suited frame.

"So, what happened with you just now?" Nathan asked, staring at the husky's soggy clothes. "That's a prison jumpsuit. Did they keep you held up after they shot you down?"

Sheila cringed as the images from earlier in the day came back. She faintly shook her head to eliminate the thoughts, then turned her head towards the watered-down car window.

"I… I can't talk about it…"

"It's alright, you can tell me," Nathan said softly, but Sheila violently shook her head again.

"No, Nathan, I _can't_ talk about it," Sheila repeated with emphasis, letting her head fall down to the floor. Nathan cocked an eyebrow and made a faint glance to the husky next to him.

"What happened?" Nathan asked. "They… they didn't hurt you, did they?"

Sheila again cringed and held at her stomach. A soft whimper inadvertently escaped her maw as she let her head droop down again. Nathan exhaled quietly and gingerly set a hand on her leg. Sheila instantly tensed up and almost ripped the human's hand off, but realized he was trying to comfort her. He wasn't like the human that had repeatedly beat her; he was completely different. He cared.

Nathan felt the husky's leg muscles tense up, so he quickly tried to calm her down. "Sheila, it's alright, I'm not gonna hurt you. I would never hurt you. I'm only here to help, and I'll keep you safe. I promise."

Sheila took a deep breath and let herself relax as the human kept his hand on her leg. It was a reassuring touch; one she hadn't felt in a long time. She finally felt at ease for the first time in quite a long time, and that eventually caught up with her. She started to grow tired and was practically asleep by the time Nathan rolled up to the driveway of their house and turned the car off. He patted the husky's leg to get her attention and grinned once she opened her pale blue eyes.

"Time to patch things up," Nathan stated as he opened the door and trotted up to the front door of the small house. He stopped as he grabbed the handle and looked back at the husky that was right behind him. "You ready?"

Sheila sighed and pushed some of her soggy hair back. "Yes… I want to see him."

Nathan nodded and unlocked the door, and stepped through into the warm, comforting glow of the house. Wolf and Fox were sitting on the couch facing the front door, with Fox smiling as he was gazing into Wolf's open transmitter. Fox was the first to glance up, and as soon as he saw the feminine figure behind Nathan he gasped loudly and furiously smacked at Wolf's shoulder with both paws.

"Ow, Fox, what's the deal?" Wolf whined, then turned his head to what the vulpine was staring at. His light gray maw opened as wide as his eyes did, and felt his heart skip a beat.

The next ensuing seconds was the definition of an awkward moment. Wolf just sat there with a stupefied and awestruck look, while Sheila stared back at him with eyes glistening. Sheila eventually took a step toward the lupine, still not breaking her gaze.

"S-Sheila?" Wolf stuttered, not releasing his own stare into the husky's eyes.

Sheila took another step forward.

"W-what are you doing here?" he questioned, still locked in her gaze.

Sheila stayed silent, taking another step.

"She… you ok?" Wolf called out softly. "You're… You're not… are you…?"

Sheila kept taking step after step slowly, inching ever so closer to the lupine. As soon as her bare feet were within inches of Wolf's boots, she fell forward into him and attacked his muzzle with her own, forcing his head back into the couch. Wolf's eyes shot open again at her sudden attack, but eventually they slowly closed as he wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her in.

It was as if the ordeal on the Husky Destroyer never happened. She was completely wrapped up in the lupine's love and affection, which was what she had neglected after the assault. Wolf had tried to comfort her, and she pushed him away. Now, it was completely different as Sheila wanted nothing more than to be in her man's warmth for the rest of her life.

Sheila backed off after a few seconds while breathing heavily, then gave a pleasured smile to the lupine who was also trying to regain his breath. She gazed into the wolf's violet eyes, letting her smile fade as a single tear dripped out of her eye. Wolf's smile quickly changed into a concerned stare as he saw the tears flow out of her eyes. Sheila lowered her eyes, then suddenly fell into the lupine's chest.

"Wolf, I'm so sorry," she sobbed, burying herself into Wolf's jacket. "I was wrong! I was so wrong Wolf!"

"Shelia, hold on a second, calm down," Wolf pleaded calmly, lifting her tear stained face out of his chest. "What happened? How did you get here? And… what happened to you?"

Sheila sniffed as she lowered her eyes. "I… I came to look for you."

"Me? Why?" Wolf questioned.

"To do what I just did," Sheila responded as she picked her eyes back up. "I wanted to apologize to you. I should've never said the things I did. I didn't listen to you; even though I should have. You were right this whole time. I'm… I'm so sorry."

Wolf gingerly grabbed her head and embraced it gently, petting her soggy cinnamon colored hair. Sheila choked back a sob as she allowed the lupine to comfort her, but eventually pried her head out of the lupine's paws and stared into his eyes.

"Wolf… Can… Can you forgive me? Can you forgive me for being so heartless?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Wolf asked with a grin. "Sheila, you'd have to do something worse than that to get on my bad side. Yeah, it hurt me a little what you said, but the fact that you're apologizing negates everything. I accept your apology, and I forgive you."

Sheila's muzzle curled upwards as she again attacked Wolf's maw with a kiss. Wolf again allowed the onslaught and tightly embraced the light copper husky; disregarding her soggy fur. After she backed off again, Wolf chuckled and eyeballed her frame.

"You didn't answer my question about… yourself," Wolf reminded. Sheila cringed slightly and glanced down at the ground.

"It's a long story…" she mumbled, flattening her ears. Wolf chuckled and patted her back.

"You can tell me later. Right now, you think you might want to clean up a bit?" Wolf suggested with a smirk. Sheila bit her lower lip and smiled, then turned to the human who was sitting on the other couch. She cocked her head at him, making Nathan himself smile.

"Follow me Sheila; I'll help you get cleaned up."

Sheila nodded, but right as she attempted to pull herself off of the lupine he quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her in closer.

"I'm so happy you're ok," he whispered into her ear. "I couldn't imagine what I would do without you."

Sheila grinned again, making sure to hide her teeth. "I love you too Wolf."

Sheila snuck in another quick kiss on the lupine's forehead as she walked into the hallway with the human. Wolf exhaled as he let himself slouch down on the couch. He closed his eyes and sighed again, then muttered to himself under his breath with a faint grin.

"My army is growing James… You're running out of excuses…"

* * *

_I took a walk around the world to ease my troubled mind  
I left my body lying somewhere in the sands of time  
But I watched the world float to the dark side of the moon  
I feel there's nothing I can do, yeah_

_I watched the world float to the dark side of the moon  
After all I knew it had to be something to do with you  
I really don't mind what happens now and then  
As long as you'll be my friend at the end_

_If I go crazy then will you still call me Superman  
If I'm alive and well, will you be there a-holding my hand  
I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might  
Kryptonite_

_*Kryptonite – 3 Doors Down*_


	16. Syrup

**A/N: Good news first: new chapter yay! Bad news: might have to slow the updates on this. As of recently I've been struggling, so I'd rather take a little break and not have my work suffer. That being said, I don't know when I'll resume updates, but I do have a section on my profile that clues you guys in on how stories are progressing from my end. My apologies in advance.  
**

**However, I have started a new story, and I've been having so much fun writing it. That may take over the weekly updates for a little bit until I can solve my block with this story. I've gotten some good feedback so far from some of you guys that have read both this and the new one, and I thank you guys for that. For viewers that have not seen it yet, I'd love to know what you guys think of it. It's called "Far Form Home" fyi.**

**So, again, sorry that I'm slowing updates for this, but writers block is a bitch and affects everyone. Just know I'm not stopping this, but I will have to take a brief intermission from it. That said, I'd love to know what you guys think as usual. Feedback will most likely get me out of this slump (and no I'm not bribing you guys. I'm being frankly honest). FFH will most likely take over weekly updates as previously stated, so keep an eye out for that.**

**Sorry for the long-ish update, but I'd rather tell you guys now than later. Take care fellas; I'll see you next update!**

* * *

**Great Fox (airspace of Chicago, Illinois)**

James lazily threw on a dark gray cotton V-neck shirt over his orange furred torso, then rewound the red scarf around his neck as he sank back down onto his bedside.

His plan was simple: put the Great Fox into auto-pilot and have her fly over to Sheila's last known location, then tomorrow, when it was daylight out and when the storm would dissipate, he'd use whatever he could to locate her. He managed to put the locator system onto his transmitter, and had Sheila's tracking chip saved onto his small mini-map. He was hopeful he could find more than just the husky when he went down there.

He made a glance to his nightstand, then saw the paper with the humans' message scribbled on it. He stared at that paper, but faintly shook his head and glanced away.

"I am not negotiating with those sons of bitches," James murmured bitterly. "I won't let them off with just a slap on their wrists. I will kill anyone that gets between me and my kit. Anyone at all."

James glanced over at the paper again, but this time it almost seemed as though the numbers were screaming to be called. What if they had Fox at gunpoint when he barged in? They would blow the defenseless kit's head right off his shoulders before he could even blink in recognition. He couldn't take that risk, but it was still Cornerian policy to not negotiate with the enemy.

Then again, what was policy anymore? He was pretty sure that they had broken numerous rules with this war in general, but it was still what the humans deserved. If they didn't deserve it now, they sure as hell did now with Fox in their possession. If everyone else broke the rules, what was stopping him? Still, he had just told himself that he would not negotiate. He told himself he wouldn't stoop to the human's level just to get Fox back. Rules or no rules; he would get him back, even if it cost him everything. Fox _was_ everything to him now.

James picked himself up, snatched up the scrap of paper, then crumpled it into a ball as he faintly leapt up and lobbed it into the trash can on the other side of the room as if he was making a three point shot in basketball. He grinned at his precise jump-shot, then spun around and slowly trotted down the hall to the Great Fox's bridge. Along the way, he noticed two soldiers talking by the door to the break room. He growled faintly and turned his head away from the wolf-dog, who was talking with a smaller rust colored coyote. The coyote was much shorter than James, and his short dark hair was spiked straight up, but the short length of the hair did not match up with the length of his ears. Wes noticed the vulpine and gave a nasty scowl back.

"Where do you think you're going McCloud?" Wes questioned scornfully. James stopped in his tracks and cranked his head around to the hybrid with his teeth bared.

"I'm getting my kit back; not like you give a fuck about it anyway," James snapped.

"Don't you think you've done enough damage for one war?" Wes retorted.

"Not even close," the vulpine quickly butted in. "I know where they might be, and I'm gonna make them suffer for what they've put me through."

Wes instantly lost his glare and donned a confused stare. "You know where they are?"

James sighed and pawed at his forehead. "Wolf's tracker got disconnected, and the only way that can happen is if he had another transmitter to do it. His is in pieces on the Husky's ship, so the only way he could disable his is if he got someone else to do it."

"So, who did it?" Wes asked, shrugging his paws.

"Sheila supposedly went down late last night. My guess is that she found Wolf, and disabled his tracker. For whatever reason, Sheila's didn't get turned off, so we've got a set location on where she is."

"Wait, hold on; what's Wolf and Sheila have to do with finding Fox?" the hybrid questioned.

"Wolf stole that Husky Arwing that we found yesterday. We're assuming that Wolf is helping the humans hide Fox, so wherever Sheila is, Wolf is bound to be with her, and wherever Wolf is, we can deduce that Fox is right there with them."

Wes exhaled slightly and twitched his ears. "This just seems… I don't know… simple? It just seems too coincidental. This can't be that easy."

James nodded and glanced at his transmitter. "We're not absolutely sure, but if it is true, I'll need some help."

"I told you James, I don't want to be a part of a rescue mission or any negotiations," Wes stated.

"I am not negotiating with them," James quickly corrected. "If we can find where they are, I'm gonna kill the humans that are behind this. I know you want to get your revenge too, so this is a way that will benefit both of us."

Wes' eyes dropped to the floor, then suddenly picked up as a slight smirk creased his maw. He inched closer to the vulpine and held out his black and gray tinged paw. "I guess I've seen a different side of you James. I… I honestly don't often say this to people, but… I apologize for how I acted the other day. I'll admit, I was a bit pissy and harsh. I didn't mean for it to be such a hassle for you. I'm sorry."

"No, Wes, _I'm_ sorry," he corrected, grasping the hybrid's paw with both of his own. "I was too wrapped up in blind rage to see what I was really thinking. _I_ apologize for how _I_ acted. It was wrong of me to go off on you like that."

Wes chuckled and nodded slightly, blatantly obvious that he was struggling to come up with a response. "I… I forgive you James… I understand."

James tightened his hold on the hybrid's paw, then gave him a sly smirk. "And I'll accept your apology as soon as we find these kidnapping sons of bitches."

Wes smiled and nodded. "You got yourself a deal."

James let out a slight grin and patted the hybrid's back. "And… I'm sorry I threatened to blow your head off. I was… well… I had a long day."

"I could tell," Wes chuckled. "So, when do you wanna head out?"

"Tomorrow," James replied, then looked at the coyote next to him. "Can you get your group wound up Rusty? I don't know where Dustin went, but when you find him, can you tell him our situation? I'd love to have you guys' Special Forces group come with us."

"Absolutely," the small coyote Rusty replied with a grin. "I'll get him filled in right away."

"Thanks. I'm gonna put the Great Fox on auto-pilot heading for Sheila's last known location. We'll be there by early morning, so you better get some rest now while you can."

"Alright," both Rusty and Wes replied simultaneously as they both spun around and headed down towards their quarters. James continued trotting down the hallway in the other direction towards the bridge of the dreadnaught warship.

The orange vulpine popped into the main bridge and instantly saw a tall blue avian asleep in one of the chairs. James chuckled softly, then smacked Riley's shoulder, making him stir and almost fall out of his seat.

"Oh, uh, hey James," Riley mumbled, rubbing his eyes. "What're ya doing?"

"Setting up an auto-pilot route," James responded, poking at the computer in front of the avian's chair. Riley instantly raised an eyebrow back.

"Where?"

James glanced over his shoulder and gave Riley a smile. "I think we found them."

"You found Fox?" Riley asked excitedly. James nodded in between slight laughs.

"I'm not certain, but I think we did," James replied. "This place is where Sheila is. We're speculating she turned Wolf's tracker off, but for some reason didn't bother to turn her own tracker off. Since we already know where Sheila is, then we can say that Wolf is with her."

"And that's where Fox is too?"

"That's what we're thinking."

Riley grunted in approval and popped off the seat. "So, being the genius you are, how do you plan on getting him back?"

"I'm not sure as of now," he replied. "I don't want to barge in there because they might have him at gunpoint. I wanna take it slow and steady, but as the same time I don't want to waste any time."

"You think we could set up a distraction?" Riley suggested. "Maybe cause something to divert the humans' attention for a split second, then rush in while they aren't paying attention."

"You're calling _me_ the genius?" James asked with a laugh. "That's a great idea! I already asked Dustin's Special Forces squad to help, so they wouldn't be a bad idea to set up a distraction possibly. He may have other ideas in mind, but for now let's just go with this."

Riley snickered and sat back on the seat. "Dustin's always got an idea for everything. I'm surprised _he_ wasn't elected leader of Husky Squadron."

"Nah, he's not eligible," James responded, continuously typing into the computer. "Only purebred huskies are permitted to join. He's a hybrid husky with some other shepherd I think. Although hybrids are generally more talented and better suited for a squadron like that, they won't let him because of age old customs established back when all fighting was ground-based and inter-planetary travel was considered witchcraft."

"We've come a long way, no?" Riley chuckled with a wing over his head. James nodded in approval with his own smile.

"True… Anyway, I'd rather see Dustin leader of Husky Squadron than Sheila. I'm being frankly honest here, but she's too young; she doesn't have the experience, patience, and authority that Dus has."

"Yeah, but Dustin's Special Forces group is pretty talented," Riley chirped in. "It's him, Rus, and Ash, right?"

"Oh, I forgot about Ashley," James stated, adjusting his scarf. "She's pretty talented. Not too many talented females nowadays in the force; especially from the vulps. She's got quite a bit of combat skill; more than I would have expected out of someone like her."

"And she's single," Riley cooed with a smirk, making James instantly break his concentration on the screen as he turned to face the avian.

"What are you saying?" he questioned with a hint of sour inflection.

"Ash is your age, is she not?"

"Your point?"

"You two should hook up," Riley suggested. "Granted, she's a black furred fox which isn't like you at all in terms of physical appearance, but that doesn't change the fact that she's sweet and beautiful, and neither of you have a companion–"

"Vixy _is_ my companion," he interrupted. "I don't care if she's gone; she's not leaving my side. I'm not gonna try and find another woman just to please my needs because my real wife is six feet under back on Corneria. Ashley is a great person, don't get me wrong, but _Vixy_ is my wife."

Riley nodded and stood up, putting a wing on the vulpine's shoulder. "I understand. Sorry I tried to ship you two. Just… just keep her in the back of your mind; in case you start feeling like shit after the war. I'd hate to find out you actually went through with what you tried to do the other day, but this time I wasn't there to try and stop you. I'm only lookin' out for ya."

"Thanks," James replied. "And… Actually, you're right… If I start struggling after this campaign… maybe… just maybe I'll ask her… Damn, I sound like a high school kid right now."

Riley cracked a laugh and patted the vulpine's shoulder again. "Nothing wrong with that at all. I know Vixy may be your wife at heart, but right now, _mentally_, you need someone. I can see it all over your emotions right now; you're lonely, and you need another companion that you can spend your life with. As a close friend of yours, James, I'm only trying to help you fill that void in your heart."

James sniffed and looked towards the floor with a single tear in his eye. "Riley… I… You're right… She is beautiful, really funny, and she seems to connect with everyone real well… When we get back home, I'll… I'll maybe take her out for lunch or something…"

Riley nodded with a smile and stepped off of the bridge. As soon as the vulpine heard the door shut behind the avian, he sat back down on the chair and held a paw over his forehead.

"Vixy… I'm… I'm so sorry… If you're listening to me right now… I just want you do something for me…"

James tensed up as he felt the golden locket in his pocket. He let the tension escape out of his nose as he slowly exhaled and looked up at the ceiling.

"Please keep me strong… And… please forgive me…"

James closed his eyes and slouched in the chair, continuously feeling the cold metal locket in his paw.

"_Till death do us part_ my ass. You'll always stay with me. Always."

* * *

**General Pepper's Flagship**

"General?" Vince called out, lightly rapping on his door. A few seconds later, the light trail of footsteps within the room progressively became louder, and the door eventually ripped open with the aforementioned bloodhound standing in the doorway with a slight grin on his short muzzle.

"Good afternoon Vince," he said cheerfully, then let his smile fade as he saw the vulpine's concerned expression. "Is there something wrong?"

"There's a lot of things that are wrong, sir," Vince muttered, lowering his ears. Pepper's eyes shot open as he removed himself from the doorway.

"Here, Vince, come in and sit down. Tell me what's on your mind."

Vince nodded as he slowly inched into the room and found a seat near a large desk. Pepper shut the door and locked it, then slipped into the seat behind the large desk.

"Alright, what's wrong Vince?" Pepper asked concernedly, folding his paws on the desk. Vince suddenly shot up from the chair and slammed his paws onto the desk harshly.

"This whole war is wrong!" he yipped, then instantly covered his maw and felt his face start to warm up. Pepper was probably just as stunned as the vulpine was as he slowly lifted his arms off the desk.

"Hold on, what happened?" Pepper asked with an eyebrow raised.

Vince exhaled through his nose, then sat back down and glanced at the floor. "We lost an entire Destroyer just a little while ago… The entire thing's gone…"

Pepper's eyes shot wide open as he placed a paw over his chest. "What… Vince… what happened?"

"They ran into a nasty storm, and the ship malfunctioned because of the lightning and crashed into the surface. From what we can gather up right now, the entire thing is nothing more than scrap."

Pepper's paw transitioned from his heart to his head as he rubbed his temple. He suddenly shot up from the chair and pulled up his transmitter.

"What are you doing, sir?" Vince asked.

"Backup," the bloodhound replied stoically. "Calling in more Destroyers. We can't complete our missions with only one commissioned Destroyer still functioning."

"General, I'm not too sure if that is a good idea," Vince awkwardly piped up, making Pepper cock his head with an uncharacteristically nasty scowl.

"How would you know?" Pepper growled sourly. "You're not in control of this war; I am. I'm the one that makes the decisions."

"And not all of them are good ones," Vince muttered under his breath.

"What was that, Stazac?" Pepper barked, making Vince raise his eyebrows in confusion. It wasn't characteristic of the bloodhound to snap as he just did. There was something off about the general.

"What's wrong sir?"

Pepper growled and slammed his paw on the desk. "Are you questioning my authority, Stazac?"

"Well, no, sir, I'm just–"

"And do you think I'll be happy that one of our ships was destroyed?"

"No, sir," Vince shook his head in disbelief. "I was just asking–"

"And you're trying to cover up a human attack on her with this _so_ _called_ _storm_, aren't you?"

Vince's eyes and jaw opened wide in shock. "What? What are you talking about sir?"

"There's no way a Destroyer can go down because of a 'storm'," Pepper shot. "Absolutely no way at all. Tell me the truth, Vince; that cruiser was attacked."

"No, general, we weren't attacked by anyone," Vince quickly interjected. "The only thing we were _attacked_ by was the weather. That storm was absolutely nasty."

"Then why didn't they avoid it?" Pepper questioned. "Why did they just try and tank through a supposedly nasty storm if they knew it was bad?"

"I don't know, sir," Vince replied humbly. "They must not have thought it was that bad, but as soon as they got stuck in it they realized they were mistaken."

"You mean the humans used that storm as cover and took down our Destroyer while we weren't paying attention to them," he corrected acidicly with narrowed eyes.

"Pepper, that's not what happened," Vince tried to explain calmly. "I saw the G-diffuser on the Destroyer combust because one of the Arwings hit it. The electrical surges messed with all of our instruments, and that eventually took her down. It wasn't an attack, sir."

"Vince, obviously you're not seeing the bigger picture," Pepper stated somewhat scornfully as he sank back down onto the chair, which was all it took to snap the vulpine in half.

"NO, _YOU'RE_ NOT!" Vince barked harshly. "Don't you get it?! This war is stupid! It's not necessary at all! There's no reason for us to be here!"

"Vince,"

"No, general, listen," Vince interjected. "Think about it. We're acting on impulse. We impulsively declared war on the humans because we assumed it was a missile that hit us, but in reality we were wrong! We were wrong to think that way, sir. I'll admit, I thought that way too, but when you sit down and think about it, it really doesn't make any sense. It just doesn't add up. Remember what Wolf said? He was right this whole time!"

"Vince, that's enough," Pepper pleaded, but his plea came on deaf ears as the vulpine continued his rant.

"The humans would not attack us," he continued. "They have no reason to. Wolf said that they were just curious and wanted to study us too, and he was right! This whole damn time Wolf was right, and we exiled him! We thought he was insane, so we made him leave! Now, _we're_ the crazy ones!"

"Vince, stop."

"We were too wrapped up in blind rage to actually think about what happened. They didn't attack, but _we_ sure did. We should have never started this war, sir. _You_ should've stopped this."

"This is your last warning Vince," Pepper growled, but Vince growled even louder right back at him, disregarding any potential consequences.

"No, Pepper, this is yours," he stated. "If you don't call off these attacks, we're all gonna get killed! I saw that Destroyer go down, and if the damn weather can do that to our most fortified cruiser in commission, then there's no telling what the humans' military can do to everyone else! We already lost a huge chunk of our soldiers now with that cruiser going down, but if we don't leave there won't be any of us left!"

Pepper smashed his paw into the desk again, instantly quieting the arctic fox's ranting. "That's enough Stazac!" he snapped angrily. "You're not in control! You have no authority! And this story you're telling me is absolutely bogus! Do you know how much trouble you could get yourself into by lying to your superior officer?"

"I'm not lying!"

Pepper shot out of his chair with extreme momentum, making it fall backwards as Vince slightly curled up in his chair in fear.

"If you still want a job on this ship you better get out of my sight right now."

"Firing me won't change the truth," Vince stated as he stood up and backed up towards the door. "You can demote me, fire me, or kick me out of the CDF entirely, but that won't change the fact that this war is wrong. The sooner you figure that out sir, the better off we will be. Think about it, before more of your troops die out there."

Vince then opened the door and slammed it shut as his tail disappeared behind the frame. Pepper shook his head in negativity, then lifted his transmitter back up to his short muzzle.

"This is Pepper. Get Destroyers 3, 5, and 8 prepped up for immediate engagement. As many soldiers you can fit in each ship. We're ending this damn war."

After putting his wrist down and sitting back into his chair, he pulled the transmitter back up again and called a different person.

"Hey, it's Pepper. Do me a favor; I want you to detain Vince Stazac. Don't let him out of his quarters. He's a threat to the outcome of the war, and I don't want him getting in our way anymore... Thank you."

As soon as his message was over, he slipped the transmitter off of his wrist and carelessly tossed it on the desk. He stood up and walked to the nearest wall, then slammed his forehead against the wall, reverberating the loud bang across the otherwise silent room.

* * *

**Colorado Springs, Colorado**

Sheila practically tore her damp orange jumpsuit off and tossed it into the corner of the relatively small bathroom, then stepped into the stream of steaming hot water. She yipped softly at the sudden temperature change, but eventually let out a breathy sigh as she let every single drop of water permeate her fur. It was a satisfaction that she hadn't felt in days, considering they had to ration the water supply on the Husky Destroyer.

Something about the water felt different then what it was back on Corneria. It seemed to seep its way through her fur like it wasn't even there. It felt stronger, warmer, and surprisingly cleaner; albeit everything felt cleaner after escaping from her prison. She had wandered the streets for hours on end in the pouring rain, hiding out so that nobody else could see her. She was a filthy, sopping wet mess until Nathan had found her. He was a godsend in her eyes.

What were the odds too? Him, out of the hundreds of thousands living in the city; he was the one to find her. He was the one to just happen to have two of her favorite people in the entire universe at his house. That was another question in and of itself; where did they come from? How did he get a hold of them, and more importantly, why didn't either one of them flip out when they saw the human for the first time? He wasn't hostile, but why was _he_ aiding his enemy? She knew the Cornerian Army was the real enemy, but why was a human trying to assist a Cornerian? Or, was it the other way around? Was Wolf trying to help Nathan? There were way too many questions than answers.

Sheila lathered her entire furry body and hair with a rather sweet smelling soap Nathan located down in the basement of the small house. It was almost like a lavender smell, but it wasn't at the same time. It was a weird smell even her canine senses couldn't decipher; but it was a present aroma, so that's all that mattered. She just didn't want to smell like she had just ran a twenty kilometer marathon in the pouring rain, which she had essentially done but with no reward of a medal.

The light copper husky buried her face into the warm stream again, washing out any and all dirt and sweat that had accumulated over the eventful two days. The water was doing exactly what it was made for; cleansing. It soothed her more mentally than physically as a matter of fact. The hot water melted more stress and worries than it did dirt and filth. The soothing stream and pleasure that ensued from it almost made her not want to get out. She let herself soak in all of the steaming water for a few extra moments, then turned the water off and let countless drops of water drip from her face and hair and into the drain.

Sheila bent down and put her paws on the shower floor and shook her entire frame, which got a large portion of the steaming water out of her fur, then stepped out and grabbed a towel from the rack. It was a rather soft towel, but again, everything felt nicer after the prison she had escaped from. She paid special attention to the bandage that was still wrapped around her midsection, making sure not to aggravate the wound again. It still hurt, but only when she moved in and around that area of her body, or if something brushed up against it.

She took a glance at the steamy mirror over the counter, then whimpered slightly at the blurry sight of her abused muzzle. She wiped her paw over the mirror, making the image of the numerous cuts and visible bruises all over her facial protrusion crystal clear. She contracted her lips, revealing the large gap in the top right side of her teeth where the long tooth was ripped out, and let out a sigh as she pawed the hole. Luckily it had stopped bleeding a long while ago, but that didn't help that she thought her smile looked horrid now with the large gap. The four long canine teeth for Cornerian canines symbolized authority, and Sheila's were above average in size, which was one of the reasons why she had so much authority in the CDF even in her young age. Now with only three of those teeth, however, she looked more humorous than intimidating.

The light copper husky located the dark hairbrush on the counter and did her best to get all the knots out of her hair. Less than a quarter of the way through, she realized that she really did need to get her hair trimmed up. The heavy, voluminous cinnamon colored hair easily exceeded three feet in length as the vast majority of it exploded off the back of her head, while some, much shorter hair flowed in front of her ears near the sides of her face, which all-in-all was quite the hassle to clean up and care for. However, the only reason she kept it at its excessive length was because Wolf absolutely adored it. During the few days that they had alone back on Corneria before the war broke out, Wolf would constantly compliment and fondle the husky's hair, and she didn't have any complaints while he did it. If it made him happy, she'd keep it at any length he'd want.

After she felt dry enough, she tied the dark towel around her chest just under her underarms, then poked her muzzle out of the doorway. She made a quick glance in either direction, then shot out from the bathroom and into the room just across from it. It was the main bedroom, which consisted of a queen size bed and a dresser, with a small TV hanging on the opposite wall of the bed's headboard. She shut the door behind her tail that just barely snuck out of the towel, and walked to the bed that had a few articles of clothing laying on it.

Nathan had quickly improvised some old clothing from the dresser into Cornerian-appropriate clothes. Just like the prison uniform, he had sliced a small hole in the rear of some loose-fitting, baggy, light gray sweatpants. There was also a small pale violet shirt lying next to it, which Sheila instantly fell in love with because it was her favorite color.

Sheila swiftly dropped her towel and slipped the sweatpants around her legs, then fit her light copper tail through the improvised hole. It fit fairly well, but it was somewhat baggy and sat loosely on her thinner waistline. It felt softer than Cornerian material, and she absolutely adored the feel of the fabric on her legs. She then poked her ears through the pale violet shirt and adjusted it on her shoulders. She instantly knew it was a nightshirt because of the large neckline and super soft material, albeit it was a bit short and didn't cover very much area below her ribcage, showing off part of her light cinnamon colored sides and back, as well as most of her white furred belly.

The husky sighed as she felt the soft material in her fur, but once she turned around she gasped at the lupine that was grinning from ear to ear in the doorway. He had a toothy smile as his tail faintly wagged behind him.

"Wolf!" she whined with a giggle. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to see that pretty little tail of yours," he cooed, making the husky's cheeks warm up again. "And I'm not talking about that one," he added, pointing at her wildly flicking copper tail sticking out of the sweatpants.

"Oh stop," she complained sarcastically, biting her lower lip and looking at the gray wolf longingly. Wolf stepped all the way in the room and shut the door with his foot.

"Did I ever tell you how adorable you look?" Wolf asked with a smirk, slowly inching his way toward the husky who was getting warmer by the second.

"I don't think you have," Sheila played along, trying to contain her wagging tail but failing miserably in doing so. Wolf smiled and inched his muzzle closer to hers, but right as the husky tried to lean forward he pulled back to taunt her.

"Getting a little needy, aren't ya?" Wolf said smoothly, rubbing the tip of his nose against the husky's muzzle. Sheila sighed a bit and closed her eyes and let the lupine's nose work around her face.

"Wolf, I–" Sheila suddenly gasped when Wolf buried his maw into her neck. He nipped and licked at her short neck fur, making the husky moan in pleasure and let her tongue fall out of her muzzle. Wolf instantly pounced and attacked her tongue with his own, making the duo fall backwards onto the soft bed. Wolf felt the husky's paws work around his back and come up near his shoulders, taking the hint to scoot in closer. He was practically laying on top of the smaller husky as he continued to mush his muzzle into hers. Wolf adjusted his mount on the husky, and accidently pressed down on her wounded midsection. She yelped and bit down on the lupine's upper lip, causing him to instantly shoot up and cover his maw.

"Wolf, oh my god I'm so sorry!" she cried, sitting up on the bed with a paw over her bandage.

"No, She, _I'm_ sorry. Did I hurt you?" he asked, checking his maw for signs of blood. He noticed the husky trying to cover her midsection, so he hopped back up on the bed and glanced at the paw. "What's that?"

Sheila hesitantly lifted her paws up, showing off the massive bandage wrapped around her stomach. Wolf gasped quietly and gently laid the back of his paw on the bandage, making the husky cringe slightly.

"She, what happened?" Wolf asked concernedly. Sheila exhaled as she fought back a tear.

"It was about how I got here," she started, looking down as she retold her story. "I was flying around, just trying to see if I could find you, and… they shot me down. I… I was going to die Wolf… I was gonna bleed out with the cut I had here… but… the humans saved me… They stitched me up and kept me alive."

Wolf wrapped his arm around her as she choked back a sob. "But… They kept me held up…" she continued, closing her eyes tightly. "They had me tied to a chair, completely helpless and vulnerable."

"Did they question you?" Wolf asked.

"They didn't just question me," Sheila said bitterly. "They… they tortured me… the human, he… He was an _animal_… He had no morals or… _anything_. He threatened me, slapped me, punched me… He was trying to kill me… I bit him to try and get him to stop, but that only made him even angrier, then he pulled out my tooth… And... after that… Wolf, he…"

"What did he do?"

Sheila glanced back up and glanced into the lupine's eyes with a terrified and traumatized stare. "The other humans stopped him, but… he… he tried to rape me…"

Sheila herself could feel the lupine's heart drop into his stomach. He lowered his head and growled softly with balled paws, then leaned over and embraced the husky tightly.

"She… I'm… I'm so sorry…" he whispered in a cracking voice. "This is all my fault."

"No, it's mine," she corrected, gently pushing his head off of her body. "None of this would have happened if I would've just listened to you. You were right about everything."

"What are you talking about babe?"

Sheila sighed again and looked into his violet eyes. "The human… he didn't know anything about what happened. He said I was lying when I brought up the attack. The other one that I killed yesterday said the same exact thing."

Sheila wiped a finger under her eye to dry off a tear. "Wolf… I'm sorry I didn't believe you before. You were right about everything. I can't believe I was so dense. I'm the one that's heartless."

Wolf exhaled and ran his paw through the husky's long light cinnamon brown hair. "Sheila, it's fine. Really. I'm not mad at you."

Sheila's eyes shot wide open. "You- you're not?"

Wolf grinned slightly and shook his head. "Why would I be mad at you? She, I know how you felt yesterday. I knew you had just watched your teammates die… I'd be upset too."

"But, Wolf, I… I broke your heart… I criticized you like I didn't even know you."

"So?" Wolf shrugged. "I honestly would be the same way. You don't have to apologize for the way you acted, because I knew it wasn't you. You weren't Sheila on that ship yesterday; you were someone else… Now? Right now, you are the Sheila I love. That's all I could ask for."

Sheila grinned and let a few tears flow out of her eyes. "Wolf… I–"

"Shh," Wolf hushed, leaning in and slightly nipping at the husky's muzzle. "You don't need to say anymore. I accept your apology, and I apologize for pushing you into this mess. I promise I'll get you out of it."

Sheila smiled even larger, and this time made no mistake as she forced her maw into Wolf's, then managed to flip his heavier frame onto the bed and laid on top of him as she attacked the lupine's tongue. Wolf managed to wrap both of his arms around the husky, avoiding the injured spot on her stomach, and pulled her in closer. Sheila eventually removed her muzzle from Wolf's, then let out a pleasured sigh as she laid her head on the lupine's chest.

"I love you Wolf," Sheila moaned, feeling the lupine's tongue in her ear. Wolf nibbled even more, knowing that the husky was very sensitive in and around her ears. He caressed her ears with his maw, while gently rubbing the husky's back to comfort her. Sheila couldn't contain her giggling as Wolf continued to work around her ears.

"I love you too Sheila," Wolf responded, releasing her soft ears and gently sliding the husky to the opposite side of the bed. Sheila slid under the covers of the bed, then laid her head on the pillow while still keeping both of her pale blue eyes locked onto the lupine. Wolf licked the tip of her nose as he rolled over and sat back up, then removed all of his heavier clothes until he was wearing nothing more than a white tank top and dark gray boxer shorts. He turned the light off on the nightstand next to the bed, then slipped under the covers next to the husky. He instantly rolled to face her and put his gray furred arm onto her shoulder.

"I promise," Wolf spoke up, scooting closer so he could wrap his entire arm around the husky. "I'll never leave you again. I'll always be right here at your side, as long as I'm still breathing."

Sheila grinned as she nuzzled closer and used the lupine's chest as a pillow. Wolf laid his muzzle on the husky's head as he continued.

"I love you."

"I love you too Wolf," Sheila whispered, feeling her heart and cheeks warm up. "I… I don't want to be with anyone else but you. You're that perfect guy that every girl dreams about. You're the love of my life, and… I can't imagine my life without you."

"Me neither," Wolf agreed, exhaling through his nose into the husky's hair. "What took us so long? Why didn't we get together sooner?"

"I… I don't know," Sheila grinned, feeling the lupine's breath through her thick hair. "All I care about is that we actually did. And Wolf, I… I loved you for the longest time. I can't tell you how long I wanted to ask you."

"Same here," Wolf responded. "It's like… we were made for each other."

Sheila giggled quietly. "You're such a dork."

"And so are you," Wolf quickly added, nuzzling his muzzle against hers. "But you're _my_ dork."

Sheila couldn't contain her laughter as Wolf buried his face into her sensitive neck. She giggled and moaned, but did not squirm or fight as the lupine nibbled her thin neck fur.

"Wolf, stahahahap that tickles," she whined. Wolf inched his way up from her neck and worked up to her face, then after toying with her for a few moments he slipped his tongue into her mouth and cradled the back of her head as they joined each other into another passionate kiss.

Wolf let out a relatively loud purr as the husky inched closer with her body and wrapped her tail over the lupine's leg. Sheila cracked a slight laugh while still being drowned out by Wolf's maw. She managed to fight her way out, then once she had a full breath of air she laughed out loud softly.

"What in the world was that?" she asked, choking through laughter.

"I honestly don't even know," he responded, himself chuckling a bit. "I've never had that happen to me before."

"Aww, someone's softening up," Sheila cooed, rubbing her face onto his.

"And whose fault is that?" Wolf asked with a smirk. "I've finally got my first legitimate partner in my life; I can't be all cold and stonehearted all the time."

"When have you been stonehearted?" Sheila asked, adjusting herself so she was almost entirely on top of the lupine. "As long as I've known you, you've always been so sweet and nice to people."

"If I'm so nice and sweet to everyone," Wolf started, once again starting to nibble at the husky's face. "Then what am I to you?"

Sheila let out another sigh as the lupine's tongue again ran up her neck. "You… oohhhh…"

"What am I?" Wolf taunted, continuing to seduce her with his smooth words and even smoother tongue actions.

"You're _my_ Wolf," she moaned in submission, not being able to contain her pleasured and euphoric sounds as Wolf continued to work around her neck. "I love you so much."

"I love you too She," Wolf purred, removing his tongue from the husky's neck and inserting it into her maw. Sheila's muscles instantly relaxed as Wolf fought an uncontested battle with her own tongue. He removed his face from hers and let the husky roll over onto her other side. Wolf instantly wrapped both of his arms around the female and practically pressed himself up against her body.

Sheila exhaled again, then nuzzled the back of her head up against the lupine's muzzle. "I don't ever want you to let me go," she mumbled sleepily, burying her face into the soft pillow. "I want you to stay here with me. You're _my_ Wolf, and… I… I love you more than anything… I don't want you to leave…"

"Don't worry She," he responded. "I can't imagine what I would do without you. I'll never leave you… ever…"

Wolf laid there with his husky in his arms, using his free paw to smoothly stroke the back of her head. Within moments, the lupine heard her heavy breathing as she had finally fallen asleep. Wolf did not let her go as he moved his arm back over the husky's frame, then felt himself slipping into sleep. Wolf purred quietly and let his tail join in on embracing the husky.

"What did I do to deserve someone as perfect as you?" he muttered under his breath with a grin. "Whatever happens from here on out, just know I'll always be right here next to you… I won't let anything happen to you…"

Wolf slightly licked the side of the husky's muzzle, making her smile slightly in her sleep. Wolf chuckled silently and laid his head to the pillow next to her, then almost instantly fell asleep with her still wrapped in his arms.

* * *

_Let me apologize to begin with  
Let me apologize for what I'm about to say  
But trying to be genuine was harder than it seemed  
And somehow I got caught up in between_

_Let me apologize to begin with  
Let me apologize for what I'm about to say  
But trying to be someone else was harder than it seemed  
And somehow I got caught up in between_

_Between my pride and my promise  
Between my lies and how the truth gets in the way  
The things I want to say to you get lost before they come  
The only thing that's worse than one is none_

_*Linkin Park – In Between*_


	17. Stalemate (pt 1)

**A/N: *Russel Casse voice* "Hello boys! I'm BAAAAAACK!" **

**Props to whoever gets that reference, and the other reference to that same movie later in this chapter. Anyway, sorry about the extreme delay in updates for this again. I dunno, it was just a chore to work on this for whatever reason, and I didn't want that chore to reflect my writing so I gave it a bit of extra time. (by that I mean, what? Two weeks? More? I dunno.)**

**So, that being said, I hope you guys enjoy this, and as usual, tell me what you think. Updates for this will continue to be slow as I struggle through this funk I've found myself in, but just know this story will not die unless I do. Unless I did my math wrong, it won't be anytime soon. ;)**

**Take care guys, and please; tell me what you think. I'll see you next update! (whenever that decides to be)**

* * *

**DAY THREE**

* * *

**Ten miles east of Des Moines, Iowa**

"That it?" Kassian asked, inching closer to the ground with his Arwing. Sharp quickly rolled his fighter in front of him and responded.

"Yup… God damn…" he mumbled, gazing out at the charred remnants of the cruiser. A few dark streams of smoke poured out from the main hull, but it looked as though the massive blaze had subsided.

The cruiser remnants came down in a large crop field, miles away from any large amounts of residence and population. There was a distinct path that the cruiser took after it impaled the ground; leaving a huge trench in the ground easily twenty feet deep or more. The trench extended for well over one hundred feet, practically carving out the start of a river if there was more water on the ground. There was still a nasty mud puddle that had accumulated in the trench because of the insane deluge the day prior.

"Where do you want us to go down at, Sharp?" MacKinnon asked.

"In that clearing off to the left," he replied almost instantly. "Keep your heads up once we touch down. I saw a few of the humans' military trucks off to the front of the ship. I don't want them noticing us."

Kassian was the first one to land, followed by Garrison, Sharp, MacKinnon, and the female husky Christina Dennis. Sharp hopped out of his Arwing, then took a glance around his surroundings.

Unlike the previous day, there was not a single cloud in the sky, and it was rather bright with the sun looming almost directly on top of them. Luckily it wasn't hot, but the sunlight sure didn't make it feel like it was chilly out. Sharp instinctively pulled out a pair of binoculars from his Arwing cockpit and took a look down the length of the trench towards the frigate.

"Nobody is in the ditch," Sharp stated, swapping the binoculars for a large carbine. "We can sneak up on them from there, and once we clear them all out we can start searching for survivors."

Garrison pulled out a long rifle with a massive hunter's scope mounted on the top, then aimed the weapon towards the cruiser. Dennis quickly intervened as she pushed the rifle barrel down.

"Not just yet," she said. "If you're gonna use that, then hang back here until we start getting in trouble. We could use your distance marksmanship, but not right now."

Garrison nodded as the other huskies started pulling out their own weapons. Kassian and Dennis had identical sub-machine guns, while Kassian's had a small laser pointer strapped to the underside for more precise shots. MacKinnon primed a large automatic rifle, which was a little longer and heavier than Sharp's weapon, but it had a faster fire-rate and more accuracy from a distance. Sharp elbowed the dark copper husky and pointed at the muddy trench.

"Ladies first," he teased. Kassian gave him a sly glare as he crouched down and slid down into the trench, making a loud splash as his boots landed into the liquid mud. Dennis, Sharp, and MacKinnon quickly pursued, with Garrison taking the high ground with his sniper rifle.

"How many did you see up there?" MacKinnon asked, adjusting his red dot sight.

"Whole group of 'em," Kassian replied. "I'm not too worried about them though. If they are anything like the soldiers that Star Fox had to fight, then we'll easily steamroll through them."

"I heard Star Fox pretty much exterminated anyone who was in that city they attacked," Dennis piped up. "The resistance they found was this military group the humans have called the National Guard. They're supposedly well trained, but our soldiers easily wiped them out."

"I wouldn't bet for that happening again," Sharp stated. "They had no warning during our preliminary assaults, so that was probably why they didn't put up much of a fight. Now that they know we're here, they're most likely more prepared and better equipped. That's why I told you guys to keep your heads up, just in case."

"Don't worry Sharpie," Kassian said with a nudge to the husky's backside.

"No, I will worry," Sharp quickly responded. "I told you guys the other day I do not want to be here at all. My fiancée is at home worried sick, and my first kit is due in a month. I just want to go home so I can be there in my first moments as a father."

"Aww, do you know what she's having?" Dennis asked with a smile.

"Little girl," he said proudly. "I'm gonna have a daughter… I've even got a name picked out for her too."

"What's that?" MacKinnon asked.

Sharp turned his head to face the light husky, then grinned as he opened his muzzle, but froze once he heard a–

**_BANG_**

MacKinnon instantly fell to the ground face first, splashing into the mud as the other huskies scattered to find a safe spot. The brown, murky liquid started turning red around the husky's head as the other huskies tried to regain their bearings.

"Ambush!" Kassian shouted, climbing up from the trench slightly to get a vantage point on the slowly advancing troops. He fired a few shots, which instantly burned through the troops' equipment and dropped them to the grass. Dennis was the next one up, launching a few blue lasers at the group, but most of them did not find their intended destination.

The humans' weapons were loud. Shot after shot flowed from their weaponry dozens, even hundreds at a time as they impaled the ground near where the huskies were hiding. Sharp ducked low and traversed more of the trench while continuously dodging the metal ammunition that was being spewed at him, then pressed his backside against the charred cruiser. He grunted as he slammed into the metal ship, then instinctively popped up and fired; dropping two or three more soldiers.

Garrison's sniper rifle suddenly exploded in a loud reverberating blast reminiscent of cracking a whip against a tree. The human soldier closest to the trench fell flat on his back with a massive hole ripped dead between his eyes, then Sharp sighed in relief and checked his weapon's battery meter. Seeing that it was almost fully charged, he charged out and launched a flurry of blue lasers as he popped his entire body out of the trench and rushed towards the miniscule remnants of the humans' resistance. As he bolted over and ducked behind a large shard of metal that imbedded itself into the ground, one of the human's shots hit his arm that was not shielded by the hybrid body armor. He swore and covered his arm as it started oozing crimson.

"I'm hit," Sharp growled, sinking low to the ground. Although it wasn't pure heat and energy like his weapon fired, the bullet that had lodged itself into the husky's right arm still stung. Kassian noticed his discomfort, then popped out like the larger husky had done and slid over to his wounded frame.

"You alright Sharp?" he asked, placing a paw over his own that was trying to stop the blood flow. Sharp only grunted as he pulled out some bandaging material from his jacket.

"I'm fine; cover me so I can patch myself up."

The copper husky nodded, then poked the barrel of his sub-machine gun out from their makeshift cover and began to hold back the human onslaught. Garrison's rifle cracked again, dropping another soldier as he was inching dangerously close to the trench Dennis was pinned at.

"Chrisie!" Kassian barked, blind-firing his weapon around the metal barricade. "Call for help! We're trapped!"

"On it," she replied, then after a few seconds of silence on her end she spoke out again. "Backup's coming. We need to hold our own for a few minutes until they get here."

Sharp growled in acknowledgement, then after he had wrapped his arm up in a makeshift bandage, he picked up his carbine and returned fire at the human's military. Dennis looked as though she was about to get overrun, so Kassian took matters into his own paws and pushed forward; pushing back the resistance a few feet while slipping back into the trench to protect the last remaining female of the renowned Husky Squadron.

Right as Sharp finished his barrage of fire and ducked behind the large scrap metal, a small cylindrical object was thrown over his makeshift cover and bounced twenty feet away from him. As soon as the object came to a stop, a loud and concussive scream emanated from the object and instantly deafened the large husky. Not only was he rendered deaf, a blinding white light poured out as if he was staring directly at the sun. He groaned and covered his eyes, then while he stumbled around because of the flash, he suddenly felt a harsh force knock him to the ground. As the light faded away from his eyes and his hearing progressively came back, he found himself flat on his back with a tall and heavily equipped human soldier staring down at him with a large boot over his chest.

"Welcome to Earth," he said stoically, pointing his crosshairs right at the husky's head. "Now, I think I speak for the rest of my country when I say… to kindly _piss the fuck off_."

**_BANG_**

* * *

**Great Fox (Airspace of Colorado Springs, Colorado)**

James tightened his white nylon flight jacket over his forest green flight suit and opened the doors to the warship's hangar.

There were six Arwings in total in the large hangar set over two distinct levels. The highest level sat four, those being the iconic silver and blue fighters that Star Fox used in regular missions. The bottom level sat two extra ones; commissioned to any pilot who had an above-average skill level with piloting these highly advanced fighters. Sarah and Wallace had piloted those two extra fighters before, but essentially everyone on the Great Fox could use them if they met specific requirements.

James growled at the first Arwing docked as he slowly trotted across the second level. On the right side of the hull, just underneath the cockpit was a distinct signature written in a beautifully flowing handwriting in a crimson red paint.

_Wolf O'Donnell_

The vulpine shook his head in disappointment, then trotted up to the next Arwing in line. He smiled at the blue avian that poked his head out from underneath the fighter.

"All set James?" Riley asked, sliding out completely and staggering up to his feet. His flight suit had various stains of fluids that had leaked out of his fighter, and his face feathers were ruffled and dirty. James cocked his head and stared at his fighter, which was also not in prime condition. There were numerous scrapes and gashes along the hull of the fighter, along with the left G-diffuser sputtering as it tried to activate itself.

"_I'm_ set, but what's up with you?"

Riley groaned in the back of his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. "G-diffuser's jacked up. I noticed it the other day when we went down for the first rescue mission, 'cause I kept feeling lightheaded whenever we made a tight turn. I'm gonna have to stay back and work on her to get her back up to working condition."

"You know you can just take one of the extra fighters," James suggested, but the avian shook his head.

"Dustin's group is taking them, remember?"

"He's in?" James asked with a smile.

"Yup. All three. They're taking the spares, and Peppy let Dus use his fighter for this mission."

James nodded in approval, then patted the tall avian's shoulder. "Thanks Riley. Good luck in fixing her up."

"I'm not the one that needs good luck," he said with a smirk. "You've got one hell of a mission in front of you. I'm wishing you luck that it doesn't go wrong."

"True," James chuckled, then walked down to his fighter. Along the way, he spotted the gray hybrid who was leaning up against the wall and was talking with two heavily equipped soldiers. One he recognized was Rusty; the small reddish brown coyote he had saw with Wes, and a large shepherd and husky mix. He had various colors of fur on his face, ranging from a rusty red, to jet black, to even pure white, and every color in between. The most vibrant color on his face was his two sky blue eyes that were on par with the color of the eyes of the light copper husky they were searching for. James cleared his throat as he approached the group.

"Thanks again Dustin," he said, grasping the thumb of the shepherd's paw as the other canine did the same to James'. "I can't even begin to know how to repay you."

"Killing these aliens is the best way of payment," Dustin replied, smiling as he glanced over at the fighters. "I can't wait to get my paws on them."

"Easy, big guy," Rusty chuckled calmly. "James has the plan. I hope."

James chuckled as he slipped in between the two soldiers and put his arms around both of them. "So, here's what I want you guys to do. I've already got a plan for how Wes and I are gonna get in. However, I'm expecting a standoff as soon as we barge in, so I want you guys as close to the building they're held up in just in case things go to shit."

"How so?" Dustin asked.

"Our latest satellite projections of where Sheila's tracker was last pinpointed was a small house on the outskirts of the city. You guys can camp out on the roof, and when I give the signal, you charge in. You guys still got the code fresh in your minds?"

"Of course," Rusty replied.

"Then follow that," James added on. "I'm suspecting Wolf and Sheila are helping, so I'll map out where those two are with the radio at the most opportune time, and you guys barge in and take them down before they try and put up a fight. We've got charges filed against them, so do whatever it takes to subdue them without actually killing them. That's my job."

Dustin nodded after a brief chuckling fit, then nudged the coyote to signal him to get ready. James took the hint, then trotted over and primed his own Arwing for launch. As he belted himself down into the seat and waited for the G-diffusers to warm up, he started his radio call.

"This is James. Everyone, report in."

"Wes here; all good," the hybrid answered confidently.

"Rusty here; everything is perfect on my end," the coyote said, making sure his instruments were calibrated correctly.

"This is Ashley," a feminine voice replied, that coming from a short black furred vixen who had just wrapped her slightly curled black hair into a ponytail. "Arwing clear to launch."

"Dus here, ready when you are James."

James grunted in approval, then disengaged his fighter from the locking mechanism. As soon as his other five squadron members had done the same thing, he throttled forward, making a beeline for the location pointed out on his HUD map.

**##########**

Wolf awoke practically in the same position he had fallen asleep in; with both arms embracing the light copper husky tightly. The only movement Sheila had done overnight was that her tail was wrapped around his right leg. Wolf wedged his arms free, then stretched them out as he rolled over onto his back silently. He managed to free his legs from the light copper tail, then spun around and sat up on the bedside.

Wolf instantly realized the rain had finally cleared up. The sky was a very gorgeous pale blue, much like his partner's eyes. As he peeled back the curtains slightly, he noticed there was not a cloud in the sky. It was an absolutely beautiful day, comparing it to yesterday with the constant glum overcast, insane deluge, and lightning.

Wolf stretched out his back, then quietly padded over to the other side of the bed and snuck in a quick kiss on the tip of the sleeping husky's muzzle. Sheila didn't stir or even make any movement of recognition that he had did so. Wolf grinned, then spun back around and slipped out of the bedroom. He was still only in his tank-top, boxer shorts, and barefoot as he quietly crept through the hallway and into the main room.

The lupine quickly found the scent of food being cooked in the kitchen, and instantly poked his muzzle through the kitchen door. Nathan was over the stovetop, already fully dressed in a sweatshirt and faded blue jeans as he started flipping the contents of the pan. He caught the sound of the door opening and cranked his head around.

"Mornin' Wolf," Nathan said with a smile. "Breakfast?"

"Absolutely," Wolf replied, swiping a plate off of the table and trotting up to the human. As he came closer to the human, Nathan turned back around and raised an eyebrow at the lupine.

"How are you not freezing?"

Wolf snickered as he used two claws to pull up a patch of gray fur on his forearm. The fur easily exceeded an inch in length, making Nathan nod with a grin.

"I stand corrected."

Wolf chuckled as Nathan scooped a few links of sausage onto the lupine's plate. He did the same for himself, then slipped into the seat across from where Wolf had just sat down.

"I heard you talking with Sheila late last night. Did you two figure everything out?"

Wolf nodded and let out a grin. "Honestly, there wasn't really anything to patch up. It was just a miscommunication, and she actually realized what she did wrong and _repeatedly_ apologized for it."

"So, you two are all good?" Nathan asked, biting down on his fork.

"Couldn't be better," Wolf smiled, himself taking a bite of the human's food. After he had finished chewing, he put his fork down and glanced at the man as he tilted his ears slightly. "Nate, can… can I ask you something?"

Nathan raised an eyebrow at him. "Sure? What's up?"

Wolf glanced down at the table for a few seconds, then sighed as he picked his eyes back up. "Do you know if I can get a ring sometime soon?"

"A ring?" Nathan echoed confusedly. "What do you need a ring for?"

Wolf made a quick glance over Nathan's shoulder, then over his own, then lowered his voice. "I want to propose to her."

Nathan instantly dropped the fork onto the plate, making an overly loud clattering sound as his mouth and eyes opened wide. "You want to marry Sheila?"

"Shh, keep quiet," Wolf hissed, raising his paw up. "I don't want her knowing. I want to keep it a surprise. Her birthday's coming up in a few days, and I want to ask her then."

"When exactly?"

"Four days," Wolf responded. "I had this idea for a while, but this damn war fucked up my plans. I really wanted it to be that day to make it special for her."

Nathan let out a cheesy smile and laughed to himself faintly. "I actually do," he admitted, pulling out a small band of gold with a relatively large and glimmering diamond hooked up on the top from his pocket. "I was going to give this to Taylor for _her_ birthday that's in a couple of weeks."

Wolf purred silently with a slight smirk. "Are you two a couple?"

Nathan sighed and shook his head as he fingered the small ring. "No, but… I want her to though. We've been best friends for years. We lived in college together. Hell, we fought in the military together in the same battalion. I always made sure she was safe, because I really did care about her a lot."

"So that's why you were so upset when she didn't want to come with," Wolf stated. Nathan nodded, still with the ring in his hand.

"I was going to ask her with this." Nathan said, shaking the ring slightly. "I mean, we've been friends forever, yeah, but… I still love her… Not a "love" with two best friends, but an actual love, like you and Sheila."

Nathan exhaled as he stared at the ring in his hand, then stretched out his hand towards the lupine. "Here. Give this to Sheila. I don't know when I'll see Taylor again because of this whole situation, but Sheila's birthday is coming soon as you said. I want to repay you for the help you've given me, and this is the best way I can do it."

Wolf stood up and pushed the human's hand into his chest. "Keep it. That's yours. When you said goodbye to her two days ago, it was blatantly obvious that you loved her a lot. I don't want to get in the way of you two."

Nathan shook his head and gently grabbed the lupine's wrist, then placed the small ring into his paw and closed his claws around it. "Wolf, I want you to have it. I can tell you love her with all your heart, and I think it will be the cutest thing for you to propose on her birthday. I want you to be happy."

"But I already am," Wolf quickly added, unrolling his claws on the ring. "She's not leaving my side. I'm not leaving hers. There's always next year I can ask her. I can wait."

Wolf lifted the ring off his paw and handed it to Nathan. He hesitated, but eventually picked the ring out of his claws.

"I can always pick one out on Corneria," Wolf explained. "I don't want to take it away from you. I can always ask her next year, or whenever I get an opportunity of my own. That's Taylor's ring, Nate. You give that to her the next time you see her."

Nathan smiled and nodded, pocketing the small ring. "You're right. But, what about you and Sheila?"

"Like I said," Wolf started, sitting back at the table. "Sheila and I aren't splitting up. Last night she told me that she would never be happy with anyone else. I'm her partner. She's never going to leave my side, and I the same to her. It doesn't matter if I ask her today or a three years from now, her answer will always be the same."

Nathan grinned and patted the lupine's shoulder. "You're a good man– _wolf_, my friend. You take good care of her."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Wolf responded with his own smile. His ear twitched as he heard footsteps from outside the door, then quickly turned to Nathan and waved his paw around his neck. Nathan nodded as Wolf stood up and poked his muzzle out of the doorframe. "Hey beautiful, sleep well?"

"Of course; you were there right next to me," Sheila cooed, playfully pushing the lupine back into the kitchen. She still had her nightclothes on, with the addition of Wolf's jacket that she had thrown over her exposed arms. Sheila stretched upward and was barely able to sneak a kiss on the side of the lupine's muzzle, then yawned and stretched her arms.

"Mornin' Sheila," Nathan said, grabbing at an empty plate on the counter. "Hungry at all?"

"Yes, thank you," Sheila replied, sliding into the seat next to the wolf as he began to finish his own food. Nathan slid a plate full of sausage in front of the husky, then popped into the seat across from Wolf on the square table. Sheila instantly ravaged the plate as if she hadn't eaten in months.

"Oh, Nathan," Sheila piped up, still with a mouth full of food which made Wolf chuckle softly. "I forgot to ask you about… well… all of this. Can you…?"

"You want me to explain the plan to you?" Nathan asked.

"Please?" Sheila pleaded sweetly with a tilted head. Nathan chuckled and cleared his throat.

"So, Wolf already explained you guys' reason for attacking, but I've come up with a plan to stop them."

"How so?" Sheila asked as she bit down on the fork again.

"Fox," Nathan responded. "I managed to "kidnap" Fox, and we're just waiting for someone in your military or something to negotiate with me to get him back. I'm gonna ask for a cease-fire for his safety, and hopefully they will oblige."

"That's a pretty excessive term if you ask me," Wolf spoke up with a fork in his maw. "But, hey, James is probably flipping shit right now, and would probably happily accept those terms for his kit."

"In all honesty he deserves it," Sheila said coldly. Wolf raised an eyebrow and looked at the husky with narrow eyes.

"Are you _still_ mad at him She?"

"Wolf, he hurt you," the light copper husky explained, placing her paw on the underside of the lupine's muzzle. "There's still a huge bruise from when he hit you the other day. I'm not gonna forgive him until he apologizes to you."

"Heh, good luck with that," Wolf said, grabbing the husky's paw and holding it in his own. "He essentially disowned me by doing that. I'll be in the grave before he forgives me… for _any_ of this."

Sheila giggled as Wolf started nibbling the back of the husky's paw. "Anyway, Nate, how'd you get Woof to come here?"

Nathan opened his mouth but all that came out was a slight laugh. "Woof?" he echoed in between quiet chuckles, then eventually doubled over in a much louder laughter. Sheila herself started chuckling once she noticed the lupines cheeks turn red under his thick fur.

"Oh come on Wolf," Sheila whined. "I thought you said I could call you that."

"Yeah, sure, _sweetie_," he said tauntingly. Sheila growled playfully and pushed at him, making the lupine burst into laughter. He stopped laughing as he heard the faint sound of the kitchen door squeak. He cranked his head around and saw the little orange vulpine hopping in with a smile on his muzzle.

"Hey Fox," Wolf said cheerfully, pawing the kit's mohawk. "How you doing, bud?"

"I'm alright," Fox replied, slipping into the seat adjacent to the husky. Sheila winked at the lupine, then stealthily snuck around his chair and jabbed her nose into the kit's vulpine ear.

"Hi Fawkz," Sheila said nasally, making Fox whine and lean forward with both paws over his ears and a smile on his face.

"Ahh, Sheila," he groaned, cranking his head around to the husky who had just sat back down with her own grin. "What was that all about?"

"Can I not have a little fun?" Sheila asked with a giggle. Wolf meanwhile had silently stood up and crept behind the husky, then slipped his muzzle into her short neck fur and started nibbling and licking. Sheila moaned and whined, but once again did nothing to push his face out of her sensitive neck area.

"Wolf, Wolf, Wolf, stop, that tickles," she complained, finally managing to push his face out of her neck.

"Don't tell me you don't love it," Wolf cooed, making Sheila's light copper tail flick wildly. She slowly inched closer to the lupine, then locked her maw into his. Wolf cradled the back of her voluminous light cinnamon hair as he continued to mush his muzzle into hers.

Nathan couldn't keep a straight face as Fox turned away with a disgusted expression. "What's the matter Foxie? Don't like seeing Wolf all soft?"

"He's just jealous he's not with his crush," Wolf chuckled, making Fox spin around and glare at him.

"Am not!" Fox whined. Nathan smiled and cocked his head at him.

"You like someone too Fox?"

"No!" Fox yipped, feeling the blood rush to his face.

"Come on Fox," Wolf prodded, patting his back. "We're not gonna harass you. Just tell us."

Fox grunted and shook his head as he looked down at the table. Wolf chuckled again and wrapped his arm around the husky. "Fox likes this young little vixen enlisted in the academy. Uh… what was her name again Fox?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Fox mumbled through clenched teeth. Sheila instantly gasped and snapped her claws.

"Oh, was she the short one with the silver curls?"

"Yeah, that's her," Wolf replied. Fox growled faintly in the back of his throat.

"Guys, please," he whined, burying his muzzle in his arms. Sheila giggled and wrapped her arm around the vulpine.

"We're not making fun of you Fox. I think it's really cute that you like Sarah."

"Yeah, but," Fox started, shifting in his seat. "She's a lot older than me though. I'm only thirteen, and she's sixteen."

"And you'll be fourteen before her birthday, Fox," Wolf added. "There's some couples I know of back on Corneria that have a pretty big age difference. It's not that big of a deal."

Fox sighed and lowered his eyes again. Wolf chuckled faintly and trotted over to the other side of the vulpine. "Now, Fox, I know you're really shy, but you gotta put that behind yourself. Sarah is a really nice girl; I think you two would be perfect."

Fox eventually let the ends of his muzzle curl upwards after a few seconds of hesitation. "Thank you Wolf. I… I don't know what I would do without you," he said, then spun around and hugged the lupine whole-heartedly. Wolf wheezed faintly as the vulpine squeezed his chest, then returned the friendly gesture.

"Tell you what Fox," Wolf started as he lifted the tod's head off his shoulder. "If I remember correctly, she's on the Great Fox's ground squad. Once we get this all sorted out, I'll introduce you two."

"Wow, really?" Fox said with a smile. Wolf nodded and rubbed his paw through the kit's mohawk.

Sheila walked over to the lupine and nuzzled closer to him, purring faintly. "You're such a good brother, Wolf."

"I try," he said proudly, then stood up and put a paw on the door. "I'm gonna go clean myself up."

Nathan nodded and watched the lupine's tail disappear through the doorway. He quickly transitioned his glance to the husky who had just sat back down and was beginning to pound the contents of her plate. "Hey Sheila, how long have you and Wolf been together?"

Sheila quickly choked down her bite of food and responded. "Um… Roughly a week or so. Why?"

"Just wondering," Nathan quickly replied. "You two just seemed really close; I would've thought you'd have been with him for a lot longer than just a week."

"Well, actually…" Sheila started, feeling her cheeks warm up as she lowered her voice. "I actually liked him for over a year before. I… just didn't feel confident in asking him."

"So _he_ asked you?"

"Not really," she giggled, pushing some loose hair behind her ears. "It's actually a pretty funny story–"

Nathan and Sheila instantly froze as the doorbell resounded in the small house. "Fuck," Nathan growled quietly, then slowly and hesitantly took a few steps towards the door. "You two, stay here. Don't let who's at the door see you. I'll take care of this."

Nathan reluctantly peeked out of the kitchen door, seeing a small navy blue cap stick out of the window above the front door. He sighed in relief as he recognized the golden glint off of the center of the cap. After adjusting his sweatshirt, he opened the door which revealed two police officers in full uniform. The officer behind the one with the cap was bald, and had a pair of sunglasses on his eyes just like the other one. Both of them were not smiling, instead they had looks of concern and skepticism.

"Uh, good morning officers," Nathan greeted friendly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Can I help you two with something?"

"We got a call from one of your neighbors earlier saying that you had an emergency," the bald cop replied. "What's the issue?"

"Issue?" Nathan echoed curiously. "I didn't call about an emergency. Are you sure you're at the right address?"

The one with the cap pulled out a device and stared at the screen. "Yeah," he said hesitantly. "This is the right house, right? Two eight–"

**_BANG_**

The officer with the cap instantly fell to the ground as a new hole was ripped right over his right eye from behind. Nathan instantly recoiled and put his back up against the open door as more gunshots like the one he had just heard resounded from across the street. The bald officer tried to pull out his weapon, but two or three green lasers punctured his chest, instantly felling the large officer.

Fox instantly jumped out of the kitchen with eyes wide. "What's going–"

"No, Fox, get back in–"

"MOVE FORWARD," a loud voice commanded, then a barrage of footsteps resounded from the other side of the street. Nathan cursed and grabbed the kit's stomach as he carried him behind the couch. He then vaulted over the couch after securing the tod, then grabbed his ACR from the back wall and popped it over the couch back.

Sheila hesitantly poked her muzzle out of the door, but Nathan aggressively waved his hand to signal her to get back. She nodded, and right as the husky shut the door another voice shouted from right outside the house.

"Fox?"

Nathan instantly primed his weapon, but Fox practically pulled the rifle out of his hands.

"Nate, wait!" he pleaded quietly. "That's my dad!"

"Fox!" James shouted, barging into the house and raising the rifle to the human.

Fox tried to jump up again, but Nathan put his hand on his chest to prevent him from moving. "Stay behind me Fox," he pleaded, throwing his ACR down on the couch.

"Get your paws off of him!" James barked harshly, priming his weapon as he slipped the crosshairs over the human's head.

"Dad, STOP!" Fox yipped, pulling on the human's sleeve.

"Give me my damn kit back!" James snarled, keeping the human's skull directly in his crosshairs. Nathan held one hand up, with the other one over the small fox's chest as he attempted to push him behind his larger frame.

"James, please, just wait a second!" Nathan pleaded, but the larger orange vulpine wasn't having any of it. There was a pale green fire blazing in the fox's eyes, and his muzzle was so contracted it was almost flat.

"Give. Him. Back." James repeated with long pauses and acidic inflections. Fox was practically in tears as the larger vulpine slowly took a step forward.

"James, I'm not gonna hurt him, or you," Nathan explained, feeling his heart beat through his chest and in his ears. He was downright terrified of the larger vulpine, especially with the rifle tightly grasped in his paws. "Just put the gun down and–"

"Bullshit!" James retorted, tightening his paw on the handle. "If you don't let go of him in five seconds I'll blow your god damn head off."

"DAD!" Fox screamed, trying to snap his father out of his rage-induced state. Nathan kept his hand over the kit's chest as they backed up towards the wall.

"One," James started, inching closer to the human.

"James, calm down and let me explain," Nathan pleaded, not releasing the vulpine behind him.

"Two."

"Please!" Nathan cried. "It's not what it looks like! Just let me–"

"Three," James interrupted with a glare. Fox tried to push himself off the human, but Nathan kept his hold on him. He could see the sunlight reflect off of the older vulpine's bared canine teeth as he kept taking step after step towards them.

"I'm not gonna hurt you guys," Nathan reiterated, but James kept inching forward. He stopped when his knees hit the coffee table in the middle of the room, but still kept his weapon trained.

"Four," he continued, raising his voice. His claw wrapped around the trigger as another growl escaped his maw. Fox cringed and tucked his head into Nathan's arm, anticipating a gunshot, but only heard a click resound from the other side of the room. He hesitantly opened his eyes and glanced over at the hallway where the sound emanated from, then gasped as he saw a large gray lupine with a handgun straight-armed at the older vulpine. James turned his head around just in time to see Wolf give an absolutely nasty glare at him.

"Can't let you do that, Star Fox."


	18. Stalemate (pt 2)

**A/N: Glad you guys enjoyed that little reference at the end. Honestly, I couldn't NOT put that in. :) **

**Before your regularly scheduled update, I feel the need to address a guest review I got on the last chapter to clarify things. The transmitters have the trackers, but the people themselves have one too. They used She's personal tracker instead of her transmitter. Whoever posted that review asking how; you're welcome. :)**

**Alright, anyway, here's part two. As usual, tell me what you guys think and maybe even some questions because I know this will probably get your brains moving a little bit. I'll do my best to respond to each and every one of them as long as it doesn't require me to spoil later parts.**

**That being said, hope you guys enjoy this update, and to the person who demanded two chapters, I believe this has enough to be counted for the weeks I was on hiatus. You'll see what I mean soon. Take care fellas!**

* * *

**Ten miles east of Des Moines, Iowa**

Sharp cringed as the weapon was fired, but strangely did not feel anything enter his body. He opened his eyes just in time to see the human soldier fall over sideways with a hole melted into his helmet. He cranked his head around to see a silhouette of a tall soldier holding a small handgun that was pointed at where the human was standing. Sharp strained his eyes, then opened them wide as the frame came into visible view.

"Hawkins!" Sharp yelped, bolting up and smacking the avian's shoulder. Kurt instantly cringed and dropped the weapon as the sting of the husky's paw sent waves of pain through his body.

"Ah, fuck, that still hurts," Kurt groaned, lowering his head. There were many gashes in the avian's body, dying part of his white feathers a deep shade of crimson. His right sleeve was torn off, which was wrapped just under his left knee as a few drops of blood seeped out of the improvised bandage.

"Sorry Kurt. Come on, we need to get you out of here," the husky stated, pointing towards the direction they had come from. "We got a transport coming in soon. For now, we just need to hold tight until they get here."

"Alright, gimme your gun," he commanded. "Grab Brendan. He's hurt bad, and I can't carry him anymore."

Sharp handed the avian the carbine as he crouched down and grabbed the unconscious vulpine from the ground. He was noticeably pale, even under his red fur, which made the dark husky's haste increase. He quickly threw him up on his shoulder, then ran as fast as he could down the sprawling fields toward the Arwings. He could hear the gun going off behind him as Kurt was firing at the advancing soldiers precisely and efficiently.

Sharp glanced up just in time to see a medium sized Cornerian transporter descending on the point designated for their pickup. The transport noticed the commotion down the way and started firing; launching numerous volatile projectiles toward the ground where the human soldiers were hiding out at.

"I didn't know transports were armed," Kurt remarked. Sharp nodded and adjusted the small frame on his shoulder.

"This must be a new one. Look, she's coming down."

The transport landed a few feet away from where the Arwings had come down, but with the Destroyer's materialization system they could remove the Arwings just in case of a commotion that could damage or destroy the fighters. This was the case as the huskies Arwings were nowhere to be found, which required the transport to come pick them up. The main door of the relatively small transport opened wide, and two small soldiers exited and gestured for the party to come aboard. Garrison, who had held back with his sniper rifle, was the first one to disarm himself and board the transport.

"Kass! Chris! Let's go!" Sharp barked, but after taking another step he heard the strangest sound he had ever heard before. It sounded like a faint nova bomb launch, and as soon as he thought of the word 'bomb' he instantly turned his head around to see what it was. A long but sleek tube was hurtling towards them with a bright orange tail behind it and had no indication of slowing down before it collided with something. He cursed, pushed Kurt into the ground, and then dove to the dirt himself.

That tube carried incredible speed, and the only time it stopped was when it came into contact with the transport. A deafening explosion was heard behind the husky, and he felt a wave of hot and charred air wash over himself. He picked his head back up, then gapped at a massive blaze with pieces of shrapnel scattered around where the transport was once located. The two soldiers and Garrison were nowhere to be found.

"Fuckin' dammit," Sharp muttered, slamming both of his balled paws into the ground to lift himself up. He managed to stand up, then shouted over at the two huskies he still thought were located in the trench. "Transport's down!"

"Get over here guys!" Kassian's faint plea resounded from what Sharp deduced was from behind the Destroyer wreckage. "We got a truck!"

Kurt shrugged after Sharp had lifted the vulpine off the ground, then began to run over to where the voice was speaking from. Sharp struggled to carry his own weight, let alone the small fox now that he realized his right leg had acquired throbbing and excruciating pain. After winding around the massive Destroyer, they gazed upon Kassian ramming a small blade into the chest of a human soldier. As his corpse fell to the ground, he waved his paw towards an olive green truck that Christina had just started up.

The truck was strange in the Cornerian's eyes. There was no doors, or a roof for that matter. It was enclosed in a steel roll cage painted the same color as the rest of the vehicle. There was also an insignia on what was supposed to be the driver side door, which the husky deduced was the humans' military logo.

Sharp hobbled over to the vehicle, gently tossed Brendan into the back seat, then vaulted over the hood and slipped into the passenger seat with a grunt.

"Let's get out of here," Sharp commanded with a grimace, prompting the female husky to throttle forward after the avian and the copper husky had jumped in as well. Kassian had found a seat in the bed of the truck, and was firing his weapon towards the soldiers who were also trying to fight back. Christina ignored the gunfire and pressed forward through the crop field, and as soon as she found an open stretch of road she turned onto it and continued driving away from the battle.

Sharp cursed again as he let his body slouch into the seat after the gunfire had subsided. "Good job you two on finding this thing," he started breathily, panting loudly. "We'd have been long gone if you didn't take this."

"Actually, it was Kass' idea," she managed to fight out a giggle, swiping some of her long light gray hair behind her ears as the wind from outside the truck picked up. "He saw the transport go up in flames, and he realized we'd be next if we stuck around any longer."

Sharp nodded, then managed to crank his head around to the two severely injured pilots in the back seat. "How you holding up back there, big guy?"

Kurt only grunted, removing the backpack off of his back and began rummaging around inside of it.

"What's that?"

"Bag I grabbed off of one of the humans," he replied. "Looking for some meds or… something." As he said the last word, his eyes wandered to the red vulpine that hadn't made a single movement since the husky had saw him.

"He's alive?" Sharp asked. Kurt reached over and placed a wing underneath Brendan's muzzle right on his neck. After a few seconds, he nodded.

"Barely," Kurt added, retracting his arm. "Barely a pulse on him. We need to get him help right now."

"I can help him out," Christina piped in. "Sharpie; take the wheel."

The female husky pulled off to the shoulder, then three of the truck's occupants switched seats. Kurt tool over shotgun, Sharp vaulted over the center armrest and slipped into the driver seat, and Christina hopped into the seat right alongside Brendan. As soon as Sharp started driving again, the light gray husky inched closer to the unconscious tod and began to examine him.

"What even happened?" Sharp asked suddenly. Kurt started wrapping his forewing in cloth as he responded.

"We made a huge mistake," he replied hollowly. "We ran into a massive storm right before our assault, and for whatever reason the Destroyer couldn't withstand it and went down. The hangar Brendan and I were in took the brunt of the impact, because when the ship dipped down 'cause of the lightning, the ceiling came down on the Arwings and made them explode. I don't know what happened after, but once the smoke cleared I knew we were in trouble."

"How'd you guys make it out?"

"We managed to bolt over to another hangar and stole another Arwing. We didn't make it out in time, but just being in that Arwing kept us alive."

Kurt suddenly grasped at his head and leaned backwards, letting his feathered head rest on the headrest. "You okay buddy?" Sharp asked concernedly. Kurt groaned in response, then placed a wing over his blue eyes.

"That hit the Arwing took was brutal," he explained. "I think I have a concussion."

Christina instantly handed the avian a small bottle, and needed no explanation on what it was. He instantly swallowed a few of the small blue pills, then placed the bottle in the cup holder as he let his head fall back again.

"I've got all the equipment I need here to keep Brendan alive for now," Christina stated, placing the back of her paw on the vulpine's muzzle. "He'll need to get to a medical bay on board one of our cruisers if we want him to recover."

"How bad is he?" Sharp questioned.

"Really," she responded almost instantly. "He's lost a lot of blood, and I can tell right now he's got a lot of broken bones. He's not bleeding anymore, but if we want him to wake up he needs to be treated professionally. We need to get Pepper's fleet on the line and let him know we're in trouble."

Sharp nodded and increased his speed. "I saw a small house on the way here. We'll get settled there for now until someone comes for us. Just sit tight guys… We'll be there soon."

After Kurt had opened his eyes back up, he saw the extreme pain that the large husky was experiencing as he was driving down the country road. His breaths were quick, deep, and agonized, and every five or six seconds he'd tightly close his eyes for the same amount of time before he'd make another movement.

"Alex, your leg," Kurt pointed out, looking down at the husky's right leg and seeing the red liquid seep out onto the upholstery. Sharp looked down at the injury, then cringed once again.

"Damn," he muttered under his breath, then before he could process his next motion Kurt was hovering over his leg with a bandage.

"Hold still, I got'cha," Kurt assured, expertly wrapping the material around the gash in his leg. Sharp sighed in relief after the patch job was finished.

"I wish I could help you out bud," Sharp admitted, looking over at the avian that had numerous patches of blood stained feathers all over his face and body. Kurt managed to smirk as he grabbed onto the roll cage.

"I'll live," he responded. "I've dealt with worse before."

Sharp nodded, then picked up his voice. "Kass! Can you let the Destroyer know we're trapped down here? We're almost to that house."

"I already tried; we're not getting service out here," Kassian replied. "We're stuck."

Sharp growled and picked up speed. "I sure hope we can fix that problem," he muttered under his breath, then continued the rest of his drive in silence. Silence because of the numerous thoughts that flooded his mind; especially one that kept echoing in the back of his skull.

_What are we even doing here?_

* * *

**Colorado Springs, Colorado**

"Put the gun down, James," Wolf commanded, keeping his focus on the vulpine as he inched closer. James made a quick glance out of the corner of his eye to the lupine, not moving his head, arms, or the weapon in question.

"What the hell are you doing Wolf?" James questioned through clenched teeth.

"Proving you wrong," he shot back, putting his open paw on the vulpine's chest and pushing him back. James tried to forcefully insert himself back in his previous position, but Wolf once again raised the handgun to his forehead. James instantly paled under his fur.

"Wolf," James spoke in a broken voice. "How could you? You're turning against us?"

"I'm trying to turn you guys back," Wolf replied, not loosening his grip. "I'm trying to keep the people I love alive. If you don't want that to change, I suggest you take the gun off of Nate. Now."

"You wouldn't," James growled, not letting his crosshairs leave the human's frame.

"I'll tell you again James; put the gun down."

"And what if I do?" James questioned impatiently. "As soon as I let that alien out of my sight he's gonna kill me!"

"He's not gonna hurt you," Wolf quickly explained. "In fact, he's doing you a favor."

"My ass!" James snapped, pulling the weapon back up to his shoulder. Wolf was going to thrust the gun into the vulpine's furry head again, but a familiar German sounding accent instantly froze him in his tracks.

"Don't you dare take another step," Wes barked angrily, keeping a high powered rifle trained on the lupine's skull.

"You too Jaeger? Didn't I say I'd kick your ass the next time I saw you?" Wolf remarked, making Nathan grin slightly even in the situation he was in.

"Looks like you're on the wrong end this time, O'Donnell," Wes sneered, standing his ground just inside the doorway. "I came along to fry these damn humans, but I guess I'll get more than I bargained for in taking your ass down too."

Wes instantly stopped once he heard a click resound from the door on his right. He cranked his head around and suddenly found himself staring down the barrel of a small handgun, held by a tall light copper husky that was visibly angry.

"Don't you even lay a single finger on them," Sheila stated stoically, pressing the weapon against the side of his head. James, Wolf, and Nathan all gasped in unison.

"Sheila?" James called out, not looking behind his shoulder to see her as he continued to give the human a death stare. "Why are you helping the humans too?"

"Because Nathan saved my life," she responded, giving a wink to the man in the corner. "I wouldn't be here at all if he didn't help me. He's not hostile, James. Just let him go."

"I'll let him go once he lets Fox go!" James quickly interjected.

Nathan crouched low to the smaller vulpine and patted his shoulder reassuringly, then released his other hand from his chest. Fox managed to hobble around the couch before James let out a loud relieved howl as he threw his weapon on the ground and attacked Fox's head.

"Fox!" James cried softly, letting tears stream out of his eyes as he embraced the kit's head tightly. He rubbed his muzzle into Fox's mohawk as he continued. "Fox I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have let you out of my sight! This was all my fault!"

"Dad, I'm fine," Fox assured, trying to escape the death hold his father had on him. "Nate didn't hurt me. He kept me safe."

"I don't care about him," James growled. "I only care about you Fox. You're all I have left anymore. I couldn't imagine my life if you were gone too."

"Dad, Nathan wouldn't lay a finger on me. None of the humans would."

James growled again, then picked his head out of the kit's hair and glared at the human menacingly. "If they wouldn't hurt _you_, they why did his friend try to kill _me_?"

Nathan's jaw dropped in disbelief. "Taylor… she tried to kill you?"

"She _tried_, but she was too busy dying to hit me," James retorted coldly. Nathan instantly felt all the air leave his lungs, and a strange tugging feeling at his chest. He clutched at his heart as he faltered down to one knee as his breaths deepened.

"Tay… she's…" Nathan started, but felt his vocal chords get strung as he fell all the way down to the floor in grief. James snickered as he stood back up off the floor.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I kill someone you loved?" James taunted thoughtlessly. "Now you know how I felt when your kind murdered my wife! Doesn't feel good, _does it_?"

Wolf turned his head towards the vulpine with the stare of someone that had just witnessed murder. "What the hell is your problem James?" he questioned in a harsh voice. "Just accept the fact that mom's death was an accident! They didn't do anything wrong!"

"They didn't just kill Vix," James started, lowering his head. "Think of the millions at home that died too. Think of the hundreds that are dying on this planet right now. That asswipe's friend tried to shoot me, but ended up shooting Sarah instead and killed her."

Fox's eyes and mouth instantly opened wide at the same time in utter shock. James looked at Fox's stupefied look, then gently consoled him as he buried his face into James' jacket.

"That's _two_ people Fox loved that are gone now," James snarled quietly, glancing up at the human who still hadn't recovered from the sudden shock and grief. "You want to go for three? You wanna kill me now while you have the chance?!"

Nathan balled his fists as he slowly pulled himself off the ground and looked at the older vulpine with a look of shockingly pure hatred. He pulled a small black cylindrical stick out of his pocket and placed his thumb on the one end, not losing a devilish stare in the process.

"Don't tempt me," he growled in a low voice, caressing the object. "You make one move and I blow us all to hell. Understood?"

Everyone's muzzles unhinged in unison in utter shock. Fox was probably the one that was the most shocked and confused.

"Nate," he called out softly. "What are you doing?"

Nathan continued to glare at the older vulpine as he responded. "Well, that got you guys' attention. I'll say it again: I've got this entire place rigged to blow. You make another move, we're all dead."

"You're insane!" James half-shouted, reaching for his weapon.

"And if you shoot me this place is going down too," he added calmly. "Pressure sensitive. My thumb comes off, it's all over."

"You can't be serious!" Wes exclaimed, but Sheila forced the weapon deeper into his fur as he tried to move his arms.

James crouched low and put the tip of his muzzle into Fox's ear. "Get out of here Fox. I don't want you getting hurt."

Fox shook his head. "I'm not leaving."

"Fox, please," James pleaded. "Get out–"

"I think Fox is trying to tell you something," Nathan interrupted with a grin. "I think you should listen to him."

James picked his head up and glared at the man menacingly. "Shut the fuck up! He's my kit, and I think I would know if–"

"No, dad, he's right," Fox interrupted awkwardly. "Nathan just wants to talk. He won't hurt you, he just wants to tell you something."

James lifted an eyebrow at the kit confusedly. "What do you mean he's not gonna hurt us? As soon as I turn my back on him he's gonna–"

"James," Wolf piped up calmly. "Please. For once in your life, listen."

James exhaled slightly, then turned his head over to the bearded human. "What do you want?"

Nathan smirked and stared back at the older vulpine. "An apology."

"My ass I'm giving you an apology," he snapped. "You should be apologizing to _me_ for the hell you put me through."

"And what about the others, hmm?" Nathan quickly butted in. "It can't be just you, no? You can't be the only one that's going through hell."

James looked down to see Fox nodding slightly. He sniffed a bit and spoke up. "What's your point?"

"You're putting my kind through hell too, and in our case there's no reason for it."

"Oh, NO REASON?!" he barked as his tail started flicking wildly in anger. "Do you realize what you humans did to us?"

"Yes, but–"

"If you tell me it was an accident I'll blow your damn head all over the fuckin' wall!" James snarled, putting a paw around the gun on the floor. Fox impulsively kicked the stock of the weapon before James could get a firm grasp, which slid the gun across the floor and out of the range of the larger tod. James instantly turned his head back to the kit and growled.

"You're _agreeing_ with him?" he interrogated angrily. Fox faintly nodded in approval.

"Dad, you need to listen to him. It'll make more sense once he tells you."

"Fox is right, James," Nathan interrupted. "That _missile_? The one that blew up your capital and killed your wife? That was a malfunctioned satellite; not a missile."

"Are you–"

"And I know it wasn't an attack because I know for a fact that our government would never blatantly attack someone unless the other country had a reason to start it in the first place," Nathan quickly added before James could blow up. "We made that mistake before, and we promised we would never do it again to avoid the backlash we felt last time."

"You _are_ dealing with backlash," James growled. "You don't work for your government. How would you know you didn't start this?"

"I work for my _country_, thank you very much," Nathan retorted. "I was on a mission years back that went to shit because our government didn't act on the right grounds, which is what killed a large amount of our troops in the process... And in all honesty, your military is right on those same grounds too."

James opened his maw, but nothing came out as the words took full hold. He hesitated again, then pointed at the human with narrowed eyes. "What are you implying?"

"You have flawed information, and that information will end up killing all of you."

"And you told me he wasn't hostile?" James questioned at the little vulpine next to him after his eyes opened wide in the remark the human made. Fox cringed slightly as his father's loud words continued to spew out at him. "He just openly threatened us!"

"No," Nathan replied softly. "I'm trying to protect you guys. I know my military officers well, and they will not hesitate to defend themselves if these attacks continue. If you want to make it out of here with your tails still attached, I suggest you stop your assault and go home now, before it gets worse."

After a few seconds of silence, Wes dropped his large rifle onto the ground, then gently pushed Sheila's wrist out of his head and walked up next to James. "Why are you trying to help us?"

"I'm not just helping you," Nathan openly admitted. "I'm helping _all_ of us. All of us are tired of our friends and family getting killed, and I want that trend to stop before it gets worse."

Nathan lowered both of his hands, then slowly walked towards the older vulpine. James tensed up and bared his teeth slightly, but Nathan kept on walking. Once his nose was within half a foot of the tip of James' nose, he spoke up again.

"You lost your wife. Fox lost his friend. I lost my friend. I don't want to add to this list."

He crouched down and held his arms out to the smaller vulpine next to him. Fox grinned and leaned into the human's grasp, unhinging James' jaw and making his blood start to boil. He clenched his paw behind his back as the human continued.

"Fox trusts me," he explained, wrapping both of his hands around Fox's back. He smiled as he felt the soft fur against his bare skin, then looked at the blank expression of the larger tod. "He agreed to come with me the day I found him, because even _he_ knew these attacks were wrong. I told him I would take care of him, and he trusted me. He knew I wasn't going to hurt him."

Nathan lifted his head back up to the taller vulpine, who had lowered his ears until they were practically flat on his head. "You care for your son, James. I could see it. You went through all this trouble to ensure his safety, I know. But… If you really want to ensure that he's safe, I suggest you take my words into consideration. I'm not trying to scare you guys away… I'm trying to keep your kind, and mine for that matter, safe. That's all I wanted. That's why I had Fox come with me in the first place, to get you guys to realize that you're in some deep trouble, and it will eventually catch up with you if you don't get out before it does."

The human again let another grin crease his lips as he patted the small vulpine's shoulder. "You've got yourself a very intelligent kid, James. Not only did he help me out in finding Wolf, but he was the one that agreed to this in the first place. He didn't have to come with me, but he chose to because he knew it would get you guys' attention, and maybe get you guys to realize what you've been doing all this time was wrong."

Nathan again tightened his grasp on the kit. "I want you to tell me that he'll be safe. I want you to tell me that _all_ of you guys will be safe. Please, just stop these meaningless attacks and go home. I'm sorry that what we accidently did was disastrous for you, but we didn't mean for that to happen. We're sorry."

James closed his eyes momentarily, then subdued his boiling rage as he crouched down and gently pried the smaller vulpine from the human's grasp. "I understand completely. However, I don't have the authority to call this off. I'll let my general know the situation, and I'll see what he has to say."

After pushing the kit onto the far couch, James pulled out his transmitter and spoke into the receiver. "Yeah, it's me. I'm still here. Turns out this guy... Well, I don't know what to say about him… However, those two are still here, and I already told you repeatedly what I was going to do regardless of any talks."

"James?" Wolf called out with wide eyes. Nathan slowly backed up away from the older vulpine as his heart started to quicken pace.

James ignored the paranoia rising throughout the room and continued. "Yes, _both_ of them are here."

"Who is that?" Fox questioned confusedly.

"Yes, the back is clear," James continued. "One right, one south. I'll take care of that one. Go."

**_CRASH_**

The large sliding glass door leading out to the back deck instantly exploded into numerous shards of glass as Rusty and Dustin stormed into the room with weapons raised. Ashley burst through the front door, harshly grabbing Sheila's extended arm and instantly dropped her to the floor. Wolf raised his handgun to the vixen that had taken down the husky, but Dustin leapt across the couch and tackled him to the ground, twisting both of his arms behind his back before he could get his shot off.

"Dad!" Fox shouted as James lifted the rifle back up off the ground and put the crosshairs right between the human's eyes.

"Don't worry Nathan," James falsely assured with a cold smirk. "I'll make sure to keep your word on the safety of our troops. We took out half of your country easily, and we can do the same with the rest of it too."

"James," Nathan called out in a warning tone, shaking the object in his hand.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not accepting this story you've told me," James growled, completely ignoring the human. "We won't be discouraged that easily. You may be right, but who's gonna say 'I told you so' to us once we're done here? We've got the technology; we've got the resources; and most importantly, we've got the upper hand. Accident or not, we're cleaning up the mess you started."

Fox broke off of the couch and attempted to break Dustin's hold on Wolf, but the smaller rust colored coyote picked Fox up by his arms and set him on his shoulders effortlessly.

"Get him out of here Rusty," James commanded. The coyote nodded in approval and stepped over to the door with the smaller vulpine yipping loudly and kicking with all of his power.

"I called your bluff," James smirked, expertly sniping the black object right out of the human's hand. Nathan recoiled slightly, then held his arms up in surrender.

"James, knock it off!" Wolf grunted underneath the large canine.

"Shut it!" James barked harshly. "You and your girlfriend over there have violated numerous laws, and we're taking action against it. You two are under arrest."

"Are you kidding me?!" Sheila snarled as a pair of handcuffs were strapped around her wrists by the female soldier.

"Get those two traitors out of here," James growled, watching both soldiers lift their captives off the ground and slowly force them towards the door with them squirming and fighting.

"Oh, and Nathan," James started, turning his head to the human who was frozen up in fear. "I do have to give my thanks for keeping Fox safe. I was worried sick when he was gone. You went through a lot of trouble to ensure his safety, and I can't say how grateful I am for it. Allow me to repay the favor."

**_BANG_**

Nathan cringed as he felt intense pain and heat rip through his stomach. He fell to his knees, but that didn't discourage James from taking another shot which ripped through his torso right under his left lung. James snickered as he lowered the weapon and allowed the human to gasp for breath before falling onto his backside.

Wolf ripped free of the larger canine's grip by kicking his shin, and as he faltered Wolf spun around and drilled Dustin's chest with a wicked elbow that dropped him to the floor. He made an incredibly athletic jump to put his handcuffs in front of his torso as he sped over to the human. James tried to impede the lupine's progress, but all he did was end up on the floor near the coffee table as Wolf completely bulldozed him over and slid next to the human's frame.

"Nate," Wolf called out softly, instantly putting his cuffed paws over the human's hands. "Nate I'm so sorry. I did this to you."

"No," Nathan coughed. "I brought this on myself. I should've done a lot of things to stop this from happening. I didn't do a good enough job."

"You did everything the way you were supposed to," Wolf argued, pressing his paw on the human's chest. "You did your job perfectly. It was all _my_ fault. There wasn't one wrong thing you did."

"I can name a few," Nathan chuckled, choking back a bit of blood. "Just know this Wolf… No one is perfect. I was far from perfect. I messed up too many times that I care to know about."

"What are you talking about?" Wolf asked.

Nathan coughed again, getting a bit of blood on the hardwood floor. "Everyone has their flaws. Eventually… those flaws will come back and bite them later. Please… tell James that… He needs to know that his flaws will kill him unless he can fix them."

Wolf sniffed and patted his shoulder. "I… I will… And Nate?"

Nathan glanced over to the lupine with a slight grin. Wolf exhaled as he continued.

"Thank you."

"What'd I do?" he asked weakly.

"For helping me… For helping _us_… I'll make sure to stop this for the rest of you guys. I promise."

Nathan closed his eyes and chuckled faintly. "Thank you Wolf… You helped me out quite a bit as well… I honestly can't think of a better way to repay you… but this."

Wolf glanced down at the human's hand, which was wrapped around a small golden band with a glimmering diamond attached to it.

"This is yours now," Nathan whispered hoarsely. "I don't have a use for it anymore… but you sure do…. Please… Take it… and give it to her… It's the most I can do to repay you for the sacrifices you made for us…"

Wolf picked the ring out of the human's hand and stuffed it into his pocket, then let a few tears drip out of his eyes as he wrapped his arm around the human and gently tightened his grasp.

"Nathan…" Wolf cried softly. "You… You're the best… I…"

"Again… Wolf… I'm not perfect…" he explained breathily, struggling to keep his eyes open. "The flaws that I had… ended up killing me… And… you guys' flaws… will do the same… if… if you can't… figure out… a way to stop them…"

Nathan gently tugged at the lupine's tank top. "Wolf… Tell them… If they want to see me… in hell… they need… to… to keep up… what they're… doing now…"

"I will," Wolf replied, drying tears from his eyes.

"And…" Nathan choked, feeling blood seep out of his mouth and drip down his cheek. "Tell… tell Fox… I'm… I'm sorry… I'm sorry… for everything… You… you guys were… great friends… and I'm… I'm glad I got… the opportunity… to know you guys…"

"Same here Nate," Wolf grinned. "Same here."

Nathan let out another slight smile as his eyes closed for the final time. Wolf watched his chest stop rising, then sobbed into his arms as he patted the human's shoulder in overwhelming sadness. His moment was ruined as the large canine came up behind him and delivered a brutal slug to his back, instantly dropping the lupine onto the ground. Dustin then reset the handcuffs around his wrists behind his back, then forcefully pushed him up and out the door.

"Now do you know what it feels like?" James questioned, walking behind the lupine. "It's heartbreaking, no? That's how I felt when Vixy was killed. That's how I felt when Fox was taken away from me. And lastly, that's how I felt when you betrayed me. You broke my heart Wolf, seeing you with the humans and helping them fight against us. I can't believe you would do that. I thought you were my son."

"I was only trying to do what's right!" Wolf shouted shakily, choking back tears. "Did you not hear him? He was trying to help! He knew what was going to happen, and he'll be right if you guys don't stop!"

James signaled for Dustin to stop, then clamped his paw around the lupine's muzzle. "You're seriously going to believe that alien? He was just trying to scare us away. I called his bluff with the bomb in the house, and I'm calling his bluff about the outcome of this war. We will easily wipe the floor with the rest of this planet, and _we will_ avenge the lives lost back home. _We will succeed_."

James released his hold on the wolf's maw, then patted the canine's back. "Get him out of here Dustin. Hold those two up in an unoccupied living quarters on the Great Fox for now, until we can find a better place to put 'em."

"Understood," Dustin said firmly, then harshly pushed the lupine forward and towards a small transport ship. The ship was rather small, but it could still hold up to ten soldiers and could transport them to wherever they needed to go quickly. Right as Dustin stepped inside, a faint siren was heard from way down the street.

"I don't want a firefight just yet," James grumbled, then turned to the open door of the transport and stepped inside. "Get us out of here, quickly!"

* * *

**General Pepper's Flagship**

Vince exhaled as he readjusted himself on his bed in his quarters. He was lying flat on his back with one paw underneath his head and the pillow, and another over his tail he had wrapped over his midsection.

"Now I know how Wolf feels," he mumbled, rolling over to his left side as he faced the wall. "Silenced for speaking out. Exiled for trying to help. Locked up in my own god damn room because Pepper doesn't want anything to do with me. Real mature Pep… Real mature."

He sighed as he closed his eyes and nuzzled into his pillow, but right as he was about to drift off some faint voices from outside his door ripped open his eyelids.

"I'm just amazed they found him alive," a muffled male voice stated frankly.

"Yeah, it's pretty surprising," another replied. "Apparently he's perfectly fine. Not even a scratch on him."

Vince slowly sat up in his bed and tilted his ears toward the door with an eyebrow raised.

"Did they find O'Donnell down with them?" the first voice asked. Vince's eyes shot wide open as he bolted off the bed and put his snowy white ears against the similarly colored steel door.

"Him _and_ Spitz," the other responded. "Both of them were down there, and they were trying to protect that human that kidnapped Fox. I mean, seriously? They were trying to _help_ them? Are they that crazy?"

Vince growled softly as the first voice exploded into laughter.

"They brought charges on them too," the other quickly added after his laughter subsided. "I don't know what they are, but it's probably along the lines of 'treason' or something like that."

"Where are they holding them up?"

"I heard they just locked them up in a room. Great Fox doesn't have prison cells, so that was their best alternative I guess."

Vince shook his head as he walked away from the door and sat back up on his bedside. He pulled his boots off of his feet and tossed them near his nightstand, then rolled over onto his back with a paw over his forehead.

"I'm really starting to question the intelligence of the CDF," he muttered under his breath. "It's like they have no clue what's going on in the slightest… Hell, who am I to talk? I agreed with those sadistic bastards for the longest time, and I just now figured out we were wrong… Man… I'd love to prove them wrong… How I'd love to shove the correct information in their faces and tell them they were wrong."

Vince rolled over once again, then after breathing heavily for a few seconds he suddenly shot straight up as an idea flashed into his mind.

"I _can_ prove them wrong."

Vince shot up off his bed and swiftly rushed over to his dresser while his feet clicked against the hard floors. He crouched down, opened a small drawer at the very bottom of the dresser, and pulled out an eight inch paper-thin screen with a few extra small and sleek devices. He held the tablet in one paw, then grabbed up a small screwdriver from the draw with his other paw, and expertly undid the plating over the intercom speaker near his front door. He unhooked a wire and managed to wire his screen to the wiring inside the plate, then poked at his tablet.

"Step one, get into computer systems; check," Vince started, grinning smugly. He poked around his tablet, selecting option after option lightning fast; not letting a single second go to waste.

"And there's the human satellite grid," he continued, his grin becoming larger. "Let's look for something important."

After scrolling countless options for what felt like fifteen minutes without finding something that caught his eye, he just about gave up. Right as he was going to put the tablet down, he found a suspicious looking file that had a differently coded term on it.

"There you are," he smirked, opening the folder which consisted of flight plans for a human group called 'NASA'. He scrolled down to the supposed date of the launch in question, but could only find a satellite drone being launched from that day. He tapped on the option, then scanned through the info on the screen.

"Launch… ten A.M," he recited to himself, slowly lowering his eyes down the screen. "Took three days, yup… four thirty P.M, system… _failure_?"

Vince gasped and brought the screen closer. "No way… Oh no fuckin' way."

The white fox let the tablet fall to the ground, and as it clattered on the steel floors he clasped both of his paws around his muzzle. His eyes were as wide as saucers as he continued to stare at the tablet he dropped.

"It _was_ a failure," he continued breathily, beginning to aimlessly pace around his room. "Satellite malfunction. It was a malfunctioned satellite this whole time. This whole fuckin' time! Why didn't we look this up before? That could have prevented all this… this… shit!"

Vince sank down onto his bedside with his paws practically crushing his skull as he stared at his feet.

"What have we done? What… What are we _still_ doing here?"


	19. Can I Have My Phone Call?

_Here's to us – here's to love  
All the times that we fucked up  
Here's to you – fill the glass  
'Cause the last few days have kicked my ass  
So let's give 'em hell – wish everybody well  
Here's to us… Here's to us…_

_*Halestorm – Here's To Us*_

* * *

**Great Fox**

"You want another, James?" Wallace asked, holding up a large glass bottle. James nodded with a smile and trotted up to the bar counter in the largest break room aboard the Great Fox.

"Hell yeah," he barked, handing the feline his glass. "We got one hell of a victory today. You guys have earned this celebration!"

The fifteen or so soldiers that were also in the room howled and cheered in acknowledgement. After James had downed another shot, he rapped his claws on the glass to get the room's attention.

"Alright guys, this war is far from over," James started as he climbed up onto the table in the center of the room. "We've still got a lot of ground to cover, and the competition is only going to get worse. I know for a fact that each and every one of you have the talent and the experience to make this war turn out in our favor, so I don't have any worries at all."

After a momentary silence, James cracked his knuckles and lifted the glass up high. "We've been given a day off from combat tomorrow, so this is your time to celebrate. I can't thank you guys enough for the help you've given me in reclaiming Fox, so this is for you! You guys earned this celebration, and I don't want to see it go to waste!"

Everyone launched a chorus of howls and barks as they pounded one another's glasses against each other's. James climbed down from the coffee table, then instantly found himself staring at the tall blue avian.

"You're one hell of a leader, James," Riley chuckled, swirling his drink in his glass. "You managed to save your kit without endangering anyone else. That's impressive."

"Almost," James responded, lowering his ears. "Remember Sarah? She was my first causality, and it had to be _her_ of all my troops. Fox always told me how much he liked her every time he saw her at base. Granted, Fox was a bit younger that she was, but he still really liked her. Honestly, my heart split when I saw Fox's face after I told him what happened to her."

Riley nodded and took a quick sip. "I know buddy, I know," he said, consoling him calmly. "It won't be the end of his love life, I'm sure. He'll find another. I know it's unfortunate that it had to happen so soon, but it's no different than you. You've got to put the past behind you if you want to succeed."

James nodded, then before he could reply Riley wrapped his wing around him. "See what happened when you put Vixy's passing behind you? You've developed into a great leader; probably one greater than Pepper himself. If you keep this up, you'll be the one to succeed him when he steps down. I know you will."

James smiled, then managed to spin around and one-arm-hugged the avian. "Thanks Riley. I'll make sure you get a position once it does happen."

Riley chuckled as the vulpine gave him a sly wink. "I'll take your word on it."

The orange vulpine said goodbye to the bird, then as he turned around he suddenly got a muzzle full of a jet black ear and some similarly colored hair. He recoiled in sudden shock and embarrassment, then let a smile crease his muzzle as he recognized who he had accidently ran into.

"Oh, hey Ashley," he said somewhat awkwardly, pawing the back of his neck.

"Sorry about that," Ashley giggled sweetly, using her paw that wasn't holding a glass to pat down her jet black hair that flowed down to her shoulder blades. She was about James' size, but was thinner around the stomach. She had a smaller bust than some of the female soldiers in her age group, but she wasn't considered 'small' in male's eyes. She essentially had an almost picturesque hourglass frame, and her well-groomed midnight black fur and hair only added to her strikingly good looks. She lowered her deep blue eyes to the floor below and grinned.

"I, uh… didn't mean to sneak up on you like that," she continued, somewhat obvious that she had already had one too many drinks.

"That's alright Ash, I wasn't really paying attention myself," James replied, himself getting a bit giddy.

Ashley smiled again, inching closer and batting his leg with her long, bushy tail. "So, big guy, you holding up alright?"

"I am now, thanks to you guys," he replied, also making the same gesture with his own tail to the vixen. "I can't explain how thankful I am for you guys' help."

"Hey, glad to be of assistance," she responded, taking another swig from her glass. "Is Fox ok?"

"He seemed alright once we got him on board," James answered, struggling to stay comprehensible due to his looming intoxication. "I still need to talk to him about this mess. I should probably go right now–"

"You're in no rush," she cooed, backpawing the vulpine's stomach playfully. "He'll be there after the party. You don't need to worry about him right now for once. Just breathe, and have a little fun now that you don't have to worry about where he is every second."

James hesitated, but eventually let the air out of his nose as a grin slowly found its home on his muzzle. Ashley grinned back with her toothy smile, showcasing a full set of pearly white vulpine teeth.

"There ya go," she giggled, nudging him with her elbow. "Just relax, big guy. No need to worry anymore. You can check on your kit later, but right now we've got a celebration to take part of."

Before James could reply, Ashley had already scooted off to grab another drink from the bar. Mainly because his internal instincts had been hindered due to the amount of alcohol that had found its home in his bloodstream, he followed the vixen and slipped into the stool next to her after she had poured another shot.

"You're right," he stated, startling the vixen a bit. "I've been too caught up in the moment to have a little fun with my friends. I should take it slow for a bit and appreciate what you guys have done to help me."

Ashley giggled giddily again and wrapped her arm around the similarly sized tod. "Aww, James, you're such a sweetheart. I'm honestly so sorry to hear what happened to Vixy, and I'm just shocked that it happened to you of all people. You didn't deserve that to happen to you."

James nodded and managed a smile. "Thanks Ash. Don't worry, it doesn't matter if I stay single the rest of my life, or if I do manage to find someone that'll keep me company, Vixy will always be there. I firmly believe she is watching over me and keeping me safe wherever I go."

"You were lucky to get someone like her in the first place," Ashley added. "Vix was my best friend in high school, and she honestly was a perfect fit for you. Seriously, you two were the cutest family, and Fox is living proof of that love. I absolutely love Fox to death, and I'd hate to see him feel lonely because you're always out fighting."

James suddenly nudged her arm and gave her a sly smirk. "When you're not out there, would you mind keeping an eye on him? Just to make sure he's alright, and care for him if he's starting to feel upset?"

"I'd love to," she responded excitedly, then leaned forward and gave the vulpine a warm hug. James took his opportunity and kept his embrace longer than the vixen expected out of him. That sudden sign of affection peaked the black fox's curiosity, even though she knew her inhibitions were limited.

"Listen, James, I understand how you feel," she blurted out, prompting the orange tod to remove his head and raise an eyebrow. She giggled and placed her paw on the fox's leg. "I'd be upset too if I had a spouse and I lost them suddenly. The thing is James, I… I don't know if I should tell you this or not…"

"Go ahead, tell me what's on your mind," James responded in an assuring tone.

"I don't know if I can," she whimpered, causing the orange vulpine to lift her paw off his leg and tightly grasp in in his own paws.

"What's wrong?"

Ashely exhaled and gazed up at the orange fox. "When I was at your wedding with Vixy years back, I… I was jealous."

"You?" James asked disbelievingly. Ashley nodded slowly in response.

"You don't know how bad I wanted to be up there with you," she admitted, lowering her ears flat on her head. "I was extremely jealous, because I did kinda have a bit of feelings towards you. I waited too long to try and tell you, and when I finally mustered enough courage you were up on the stage exchanging vows with my best friend. You don't know how angry I was with myself, because I could have been up there with you if I would've just listened to my gut the first time."

"That's what I tell my son all the time," James responded, and to the surprise of the vixen he had no outstanding hostility towards her, or any ill feelings towards her; period. He understood, even though he didn't have to openly admit it. It was blatantly obvious with his tone of voice and facial expression that he sympathized with her thoughts. "Always trust your instincts. They may be tough to do, but they're always right."

Ashley smiled and inched closer to the vulpine after he had stood up off the stool, but he tucked his tail between his legs after he had done so.

"Believe it or not… I seemed to have lost touch with my own instincts ever since Vixy was killed," he admitted, taking another long sip from his drink. "I still haven't found a way to get back in touch with them, and it's driving me nuts because I don't know if I made a wrong decision or not."

"James, you rescued your son; I highly doubt that it was a wrong decision to do so," Ashley stated, nuzzling closer and resting her head on James' chest. "If your instincts went away because you're lonely without Vixy, then you have a perfect person right next to you that would have no troubles in keeping you company if it makes you happy."

"And who would that be?" he asked tauntingly, making a bold move in lowering his muzzle and having the tip of it touch up against her forehead.

"Me, silly," she giggled, lifting her own muzzle up and brushing it against James'. James' heavily influenced emotions took over with no inner restrictions whatsoever as he pressed the tip of his mouth against her lips and waited for her to allow the affection. Ashley graciously accepted the invitation and cracked her muzzle open slightly, which was all the room James needed to slip his tongue into her maw. As their two tongues fought, Ashley wrapped her arms around James' neck and embraced him tightly, then after a few seconds both foxes backed off while panting and smiling.

"Thank you Ashley," James managed to say after regaining his breath. "Do you think Vixy will be upset with me now that I've fallen in love with another woman?"

Ashley smiled after his sudden and inadvertent slip of words came across her ears without him even realizing he said it. "I was her best friend since high school, and we loved each other like sisters. I'd highly doubt she'd be against this, just as long as we're both happy. She would have wanted you to be happy, even if she were to go so suddenly like she did."

James exhaled and let out another smile. "You're right. She'll understand."

After James had downed another shot glass, he removed himself from the black vixen's grasp and looked over at the door with a giddy chuckle. "I think I should go talk to Fox now."

"Oh, okay," she responded in her own lightheaded giggle. "See you later, big guy."

James smiled once again, then slipped out of the bustling break room without any further interference, then slowly trotted down towards the kit's room. He stopped at the door, let a quick burst of air through his nose, then placed a paw over the door handle.

**##########**

Fox whimpered slightly as he sat back down on his bedside and pawed at the golden cross around his neck.

He knew the fate of the man who had graciously given him the necklace. Right before the dark red coyote forced him into the transport ship, he heard his father's gun go off. Several times that weapon went off, and he cringed every time it did. Once James came back on board, he tried his best to hold in his tears, and basically had to avoid eye contact with his father entirely. It pained him to do that, but in his mind, his father deserved every second of it.

Now that he was alone in his room, he let the tears and emotions flow with no bounds or limitations. That was his friend, murdered in cold blood by his own father. He still couldn't believe that his father would do that. He completely disregarded everything he said, just to get revenge for something that happened entirely by accident.

It was like James was someone else.

Fox tensed up as he heard the knob on his door rustle. He swiftly tucked the golden charm into his shirt, flipped the lamp on his nightstand off, then ducked under his covers and closed his eyes as James slowly inched into the room.

The older vulpine exhaled through his nose slowly as he took step after step into the room, then sat on the kit's bedside and laid a paw on his blanketed shoulder. "You okay little buddy?"

Fox grunted in a fake sleepy tone as he nuzzled closer into his blanket, still not opening his eyes. James scratched behind his own ear, then wrapped his arm around the kit and leaned his muzzle in, gently kissing his cheek in a consolation attempt.

"I'm so sorry you had to deal with that," he said, keeping his arm on his son. Fox could smell the stench of alcohol stemming from his father's maw, and he absolutely hated when he drank. He would always loose rationality and his inner instincts, but he was already certain they were long gone ever since the incident earlier in the day. They were gone ever since the war first started for that matter, with the seemingly inconsolable rage at first, then the attack on his own brother, and now adding to that list with the killing of his friend in cold blood.

"I was too careless," he continued. "I didn't make sure you were safe first, and that almost got you killed. I can't believe I would let that happen to you."

James sighed again and sniffed. "You're all I have now, Fox… I can't lose you like I lost…"

He choked back a sob and stood up off the bed. "I promise, I'll be more careful. I won't let that happen to you ever again. I'll make sure you're safe, no matter what."

He leaned in and planted another kiss on the kit's forehead. "I love you Fox," he said thoughtfully, then slowly walked over to the door, but as soon as his paw clamped down on the handle Fox shakily spoke up, barely breaking a whimper.

"You didn't have to do that."

James let go of the handle as he raised an eyebrow and inched closer to the smaller vulpine. "Do what?"

"Kill him," he continued softly, almost inaudibly. "You didn't have to kill him. He wasn't going to do anything to any of us, like he kept saying."

James exhaled a breath tainted with alcohol and sat on the kit's bed again. "I did what I had to do, Fox. That human was a threat, and I had to take care of threats the way everyone else does."

"He wasn't a threat," Fox argued in a strange voice filled with subtle hostility. "If he was a threat, I wouldn't be here, and neither would you, _and you know it_."

"What's wrong bud?" James asked at the vulpine's increasingly sour tone of voice. Fox suddenly shot up and ripped the blanket off of his frame, staring at his father through the pitch blackness.

"Nathan was my friend!" he yipped. "He was looking out for me and making sure that I was safe, and you killed him! YOU KILLED HIM!"

James quickly turned the lamp on, revealing numerous tears streaming down the young tod's face and an expression he had never seen on his kit's face before. _Anger_.

"Fox, settle down," he pleaded calmly, but Fox growled very uncharacteristically at him, stunning the older vulpine.

"WHY?!" Fox commanded shakily. "You saw how much he cared for us, and you do that to him?! He didn't do anything wrong! Why would you do that to him?!"

"Fox," James started, feeling his eyes start to water. "Fox, I… I'm– Where are you going?" he asked as Fox suddenly threw his legs off the bedside and hobbled over to his door. He didn't answer as he turned the knob and slipped out of his quarters after swiping his crutches from the wall. James instantly shot up and quickly pursued him down the hallway.

"Fox," he called out. "Get back here."

"Leave me alone," he whined shakily, not turning his head back to face his father.

"Fox," James repeated in a warning tone.

"GO AWAY!" Fox suddenly snapped, jerking his head around and glaring at the older vulpine with tears flowing from his eyes like a waterfall. "You don't care about me! If you did, you would've listened to Nate the FIRST TIME! You don't care about anyone other than yourself, and YOU NEVER WILL!"

James' eyes widened as he felt his heart split in two at the kit's outburst. Fox wasted no time in quickly spinning around and hopping down the hall; crying softly in the process. As his tail disappeared around the corner, James lowered his head and placed a paw over his broken heart as he tried to comprehend the kit's actions.

All of a sudden, his euphoria that he had acquired with the drinks and the successful rescue mission suddenly dissipated into regret. It was the first time in a long time that he had dealt with regret. It finally took his kit to snap at him to understand what he had done. His grief took over, and he couldn't keep enough strength to keep himself standing on his own two feet as he fell to his knees.

"James, what happened?" Ashley called out, rushing down the hallway and up to his kneeling frame. James sniffed in acknowledgement, then tilted his head up to face the vixen.

"I made a mistake."

"How?"

"My instincts didn't come through when they mattered, and now my own kit wants nothing to do with me," he replied hollowly, again lowering his head. "I feel terrible now… I broke my kit's heart, he broke mine, and now I'm lonelier than I ever was before… …I… What have I done?"

Ashley couldn't believe her eyes as she witnessed the vulpine break down. He had never let his emotions show in such a terrible way, even when the whole ordeal started in the first place. She could only stare in disbelief as he lowered his head all the way down and pressed his forehead against the floor, crying somewhat audibly in the process.

"Easy, big guy," she said calmly, crouching down and beginning to rub her paw over his back. "He'll calm down. He's probably still in shock from all the events over the past few days. Give him time to simmer down a bit. Guaranteed he'll be more approachable as soon as all these events get time to sink in."

James still couldn't respond. He was too busy trying to regain his composure, still with his face planted against the floor. Ashley continued, sliding her paw from his back to just behind his ears.

"It's alright, James. You'll be okay."

James exhaled after the vixen had retracted her paw, then straightened up while still kneeling on the floor. There was a visible trail down the vulpine's cheek where the tears had flowed down from his eyes. Ashley saw this trail, then used her thumb to wipe the water away from his face.

"No matter what he says to you, he'll still love you," she continued, trying her best to cheer James up. "There were times that I hated my father for the things he did, but deep down I always loved him. He was irreplaceable… and so are you James. Not only for Fox, but for all of us. You're irreplaceable."

James glanced down at the floor again. "Ash, I… I don't know. He's never said that kind of thing to me before. He'd _never_ say that."

"I know I sure wouldn't," Ashley cooed smoothly, again scratching behind James' floppy ear. James' tail started to show signs of life, letting the vixen know she had found his sweet spot.

"Do you really think he'll calm down?" James asked pitifully. The vixen nodded and continued her scratching.

"He'll be fine, bug guy," she assured. "Give him a bit of time. Now, we're missing a great celebration, and it won't be good enough until you join in. Whada'ya say?"

"Yeah, we should… probably get back to… the others," James managed to say while his grunts of pleasure surfaced and constantly made him pause his sentence as she continued rubbing behind his ears. Ashley nodded and picked the vulpine up off the floor, then wrapped her arm around his neck as they wandered back towards the break room.

* * *

**Just outside Prairie City, Iowa**

Sharp started slowing the vehicle down as he saw the tip of a farm house become visible in the distance. After a few more seconds of driving, he eventually pulled into a dirt driveway and parked the truck behind a large barn off to the left of the house.

The house was a two story ranch style house, made almost entirely of wood and brick foundation. The siding of the house was a faded mint green color, and the barn behind the house was about the same shade. It was obvious the house had been lived in recently due to the well-kept yard and garden near the front of the house. Luckily, there was no other car in the driveway, or even the barn, so his hopes about nobody being home were starting to become a reality.

As soon as he turned the vehicle off, he staggered out of the seat and started limping towards the house. Kurt closely followed, with the light gray husky pursuing him. Kassian managed to scoop up the unconscious vulpine out of his seat and trotted up to the back porch with him in his arms, then watched as Sharp harshly kicked the back door in. As soon as he did, he fell to the wooden porch and let out an agonized howl as pain from his leg wound made him unable to stand up.

"Come here, I gotcha," Christina said, lowering her arms. Sharp grasped her forearm and allowed her to lift him off the ground, then used her shoulder as a crutch as she gently eased him into the house.

They entered through the kitchen back door, then after staggering through the small kitchen they found themselves in a spacious living room. There were two large couches against two adjacent walls, overlooking a coffee table in the center of the room and a TV mounted on the wall. The room was hardwood floored, but there was a large rug surrounding the couches and the table. Behind the one couch was a staircase that led to the second floor. There was also another door near the staircase which was also located near the front door, which housed a large bedroom.

Kassian gently set Brendan on the nearest couch, while Sharp practically fell out of the female's arms onto the other sofa. As Kurt found a seat on a small upholstered chair in the corner of the room, Christina quickly rushed over to Brendan and started working on him.

She located the bag stolen off of one of the human soldiers, then started to unpack a few supplies. She found a needle and a bottled liquid, then swiftly measured out an appropriate amount and stuck the needle into the vulpine's pale, cold arm. She set the needle on the table after the liquid was injected and folder her paws together.

"Come on Brendan," she whispered softly under her breath. "Wake up… please."

A few seconds after she had injected the medicine into his bloodstream, he still did not stir. His body heat was still low, so she pulled off a blanket from the top of the couch and wrapped it around him to conserve what little body heat he had. The husky placed the back of her paw under his muzzle on his neck, then gasped when his pulse started to fade.

"Please," she continued. "Come back to us."

She was starting to lose hope. Brendan's body heat was not returning, and what breaths he was taking were becoming shallow and almost unnoticeable. She held back a tear, mustered enough courage, then leaned forward and planted a kiss on the side of his muzzle.

His eyes fluttered open.

"Brendan!" she exclaimed breathily, finally smiling for the first time in a long time.

Brendan groaned softly in discomfort, then closed his eyes and tried to move. Christina quickly placed a paw over his shoulder to stop him.

"Don't move buddy," she commanded. "You're hurt. Just stay here and keep resting up. We'll get you help soon."

Brendan grunted in acknowledgement, then cracked his eyes open slightly and stared at the husky. "Cr… Christina…?" he called out hoarsely and gravelly.

"Hey Brendan," she giggled, partially sitting on the couch.

"Am… Am I gonna be ok?" he asked pitifully.

"Of course," she assured, herself not even sure he would survive in the condition he was in. She said it to keep his hopes up, because he sounded like a little kid that had scraped his knee on the sidewalk and was crying because of a little blood seeping out of the wound.

"Are… you sure?" he asked in the same voice.

"You'll be ok," she repeated, rubbing his shoulder comfortingly. Brendan let out a slight trace of a smile, making the husky's heart melt instantly.

"Thank you…" he whispered back, continuing to stare into her dark eyes.

"Just hang in there," she added. "I'll try and help you."

Brendan's smile increased as he used the last of his remaining strength to open his muzzle again. "I… Christina… …I love you."

Her muzzle dropped instantly in shock. Assuming that he was just extremely lightheaded due to the lack of blood in his system, she smiled and played along with him.

"I love you too."

That was all the injured tod needed to hear. He grinned happily, then shut his eyes and drifted off into sleep. Christina exhaled with a subtle grin as she scooted down the couch and sat by his feet. She let the back of her head rest on the couch for a few moments, then Kassian interrupted her rest as he placed a paw on her shoulder.

"Who's your new boyfriend?" he asked in an attempt to lighten the mood. Christina smirked back and shut her eyes.

"Apparently _he_ is," she stated frankly. Kassian chuckled and knelt down by the couch's armrest.

"You do know he probably has a concussion. He might not be thinking straight."

"So?" she butted in. "Concussion or not, he told me he loves me. That's all I could ask for."

"Wait, do you…?"

"I always did like him," she admitted. "I'm only saying this because I don't know if we'll make it out. I hope he wakes up again, and is more aware next time so I can tell him. I'm not gonna hide it from him if he's not gonna recover, which I have the feeling he might not if we can't get help."

Kassian patted her shoulder in reassurance. "Glad you got that off your chest?"

"I am," she affirmed, then closed her eyes again. Kassian nodded, then pulled out his transmitter, but almost instantly tossed it onto the table in the middle of the room after growling at it.

"Why are comms down?" he asked impatiently. "We can't get out of here without letting them know we're stuck here!"

"Please stop yelling Kass, you're murdering my head," Kurt grumbled, holding both wings over his head. Kassian lowered his ears in response, then sat on the coffee table.

"I sure hope they can find us," he wished.

"They will," Sharp said in reassurance. "We just need to sit tight. When they figure the comms out, we'll call for a pick up. For now, we just need to worry about surviving. That's our biggest worry."

All of the able-bodied soldiers in the room grunted in agreement. Sharp let out a long breath of air through his muzzle and continued speaking.

"And as soon as we get out of here, we can tell Pepper directly that we want out."

"Out of what?" Kassian asked.

"The war," the dark husky replied. "I'm not fighting in this war anymore. It's pointless. We've done enough damage already; it's time for us to leave."

"I second that," Kurt mumbled over on his chair. "All the humans are gonna do is keep killing us off. We underestimated their training, and now we're suffering the consequences."

"Not to mention we shouldn't even be here in the first place," Kassian piped up. "We're essentially sacrificing our troops. We could have easily dropped a bomb on them and moved on. We shouldn't be wasting our time here fighting on ground, or fighting them period."

"And then there's Wolf defending them saying the shit they pulled was an accident," Sharp abruptly remarked.

"I don't disagree with him on that," Christina replied. "Think about it Sharpie; why would the humans attack us first? They don't have any reason to start bad blood with us. It just doesn't make any sense."

"Ehh, she's got a point, Sharp," Kurt interrupted.

"True," Kassian added. "There wasn't any reason for them to start this. Why would they? Wouldn't they want to research us first before they start launching rockets at us? Wouldn't that make more sense?"

"I could give you an answer, but the human that we captured the first day never woke up," Sharp responded bitterly. "We had him on support because he was supposed to tell us why this war started, but the poor bastard never recovered. That was our only chance of finding the real reason for this war; gone just like that."

"There's gotta be something else that we aren't figuring out," Christina stated. "There has to be a concrete reason for why this is all happening. We've already deduced the humans are intelligent enough to fight back in an effective way, but I don't think they started this. This had to have been an accident, just like Wolf said. We were just too dense at first to agree with him."

"That's pretty crazy Wolf knew before any of us," Kurt remarked. "He must've saw something that we didn't on the day we got hit with whatever the hell the humans used. We need to find Wolf and ask him, and then get our asses out of here once we prove to Pepper that it _wasn't_ intentional."

"And how are we gonna disprove the entire CDF?" Kassian asked. "It's only us four and Wolf that think it's an accident. Everyone else is too busy blowing up everything to actually sit down and think."

Sharp sighed and pawed at his forehead. "Damn, now I know how Wolf felt. He was the first one to fight against the whole CDF's stance on this war. He was brave to speak out like he did."

"He had balls, that son of a bitch," Kassian chuckled. "I mean, he can't be the only one, no?"

"Besides us," Sharp added.

"Well yeah, besides us, but there has to be more soldiers that have our same stance. Seriously, not everyone is as blood-lusted as Pepper. There has to be some thinkers that think the same as we do."

"You can hope all you want Kass, but that may not be the case."

Kurt nodded slightly. "All I know is if they try and force us into combat again after this, they're in for a rude awakening. I ain't gonna pick up shit when it comes to this war ever again. The only time I'll pick up a gun in regards to this war is so I can put a laser right in the skull of whoever started this revenge mentality."

"Wasn't it James that started that?" Kassian asked.

"I don't care _who_ started it, all I know is that whoever did it is on my shit-list."

"Mine too," Sharp poked in.

"Same here," Christina announced.

Kurt managed to let out a small smile, then closed his eyes as he let his head fall back. "So… Looks like we've joined Wolf's minority. I sure hope he can help us out… wherever the hell he is…"

* * *

**Great Fox**

Sheila sat on the small twin sized bed in an even smaller quarters on the dreadnaught warship, sitting against the headboard with her hairbrush. She had been thoroughly brushing her long cinnamon colored hair for what felt like days, getting every single knot out of it. She had never felt her hair so untangled before, and it was a nice feeling knowing that there was not a single knot in it. However, it was only a minor accomplishment, and the giant negative of being locked up in a small living quarter negated any feeling of accomplishment she may have felt.

"How long have we been in here?" Sheila questioned, using the brush to groom her arms. She was only wearing a skimpy light purple tank top that only covered her medium sized bust and nothing more, along with some extremely short silk shorts that only extended a half a foot from her waistline. Wolf was lying right next to her in the opposite direction on his stomach, laying his head flat near Sheila's feet.

"A few hours now," he mumbled, letting his right arm hang off the bed. He was swinging the appendage back and forth, letting his claws dig into the small rug that was on the floor next to the bed.

"Was this seriously the worst they could do to us?" Sheila grumbled, using her brush to comb her bangs in front of her ears.

"Well, they weren't exactly hoping for prisoners," Wolf explained, wrapping his other arm around Sheila's feet. "They don't have prison cells on the Great Fox. This I guess was the best way to detain us – putting us in a room and not letting us leave."

"This is stupid," Sheila deadpanned, letting her head fall backwards onto the pillow. "We didn't even do anything wrong!"

"I know, babe," Wolf said calmly. "We really can't do anything about it though. They'll just have to find out the hard way that we were the ones that were right this whole time."

Sheila nodded, then picked up the brush again and started running the brush down the entire length of Wolf's gray tail. Wolf exhaled a bit and spoke up.

"Before he died… Nate told me that someone's flaws will eventually catch up to them. I could tell he was specifically mentioning James, and how his flaws will come back and bite him. In all honesty, I won't feel sorry for him once they do."

"And you wondered why I couldn't stand him," Sheila remarked with a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah, you were right, I was wrong, bleh," he grumbled with no pauses in between his words as he buried his muzzle in the bed sheets. "I still can't believe what James did."

Sheila nodded slightly as a tear dripped out of her eye. "Nathan was such an amazing person. I still can't believe that he's gone."

"Same," he agreed, flipping his frame around so that his face was within inches of the husky's muzzle. "He helped us through a lot. He kept telling me that he wasn't perfect, but he honestly couldn't have gotten better. He _was_ perfect, but… we all know that the perfect people are the ones that are targeted first."

Sheila nodded as she rested her muzzle on his shoulder. "He helped us both… I mean, he was just everything a friend could ask for. I only knew him for a little while, but I still thought of him as a good friend."

Wolf started nipping at the husky's face. "He saved you. He found you and brought you in, kinda like what James did to me years ago."

Sheila lifted her muzzle off of the lupine's shoulder and stared at him questioningly. "James saved you?"

Wolf sighed and nodded faintly. "I was abandoned. I had no family, no way of life, not even a roof to sleep under. One day, a _long_ while back while I was sitting against a dumpster in downtown Corneria City, this black car pulled up next to me, and James popped out and instantly came over to me. He asked me who I was, and offered me a place to stay for the night. I graciously accepted, and I got the best night of rest in my entire life. Right as I was about to leave in the morning, he puts a paw on my shoulder and says, "Why are you leaving when you can stay here?" …And that was that… From that day on I was a McCloud. James took care of me like I was his own kit. Fox loved me like a brother. I… I went from having nothing on the streets, to having a family again and a place to stay."

Sheila sniffed and wiped the tip of her nose on her arm. "Wow… James was _that_ compassionate towards you, even though you were a complete stranger?"

Wolf nodded once again. "He had no idea who I was prior to that day, yet he took me in because of how awful I was. I was a mess, yet he saw something in me… And that's what changed me… I actually _was_ stone cold and heartless years before, but the fact that I found out that there was someone that actually cared for me… it changed my life. I dropped my previous way of life, that being a mentality of not caring for anything other than yourself, and actually appreciated the things that make life worthwhile. You being one of them."

Sheila smiled and fought back a tear. "If… If James would've never found you, what would you have done?"

Wolf shrugged his shoulders. "I probably would've stayed the way I was on the streets. Uncaring. Unfriendly. Putting it simply; a bitch to everyone. She, if I would've met you when I still was acting like that, you would've wanted nothing to do with me. You'd push me away, just like everyone else did."

Sheila leaned forward and wrapped her arms around the lupine. "Wolf, I… I don't know what to say… I honestly feel awful thinking about James the way I did earlier… If it wasn't for him… I wouldn't have you."

"I wouldn't have anyone at all if it wasn't for him," Wolf added, slipping his paws under her arms.

"What happened to him?" she asked abruptly. "He was so caring before, now he wants nothing to do with you anymore. He changed so suddenly."

"Can you blame him?" he replied with his own question. "Vixy, the love of his life, gone without warning. He didn't even get to say goodbye, or anything to her for that matter. One minute she's perfectly fine, next minute she's flat on her face and not breathing. That was one of those emotional moments for him that changed his life. I honestly don't blame him for the way he's been acting. He wants to avenge his wife, but if he doesn't cool off soon, he's gonna end up joining her."

Sheila nodded and buried her face into Wolf's fur again. Wolf grinned and started stroking the husky's hair like he had always loved to do before.

"We'll be fine, Sheila. James isn't gonna take any chances with Fox back on board now. He's gonna have the Great Fox stay out of orbit, right next to Pepper's flagship so that he keeps his kit safe."

Sheila exhaled in relief and tried to adjust her position on the bed, but couldn't move because of the large lupine occupying what little space there was on the small twin-sized bed. She grunted and tried to push just an inch of space between her and the wolf, but he was just too heavy for her to move.

"And they couldn't have gotten us a bigger bed?" she complained. "I can't move anywhere with you here too."

"Who says I want you to move?" Wolf asked smoothly, rolling over onto his stomach and wrapping his arm over her chest.

"I can't breathe with you on me," she explained.

"You seemed to be breathing just fine the day before the attack," he cooed, making the husky's face warm up again. She withheld a giggle and forcefully pushed his arm off of her chest.

"Not now Wolf," the light copper husky pleaded. "I'm not in the mood."

"I know, I know; I'm not either," the lupine replied, laying his head on the pillow. "I'm gonna use this time we're gonna be held up in here to catch up on some much needed rest."

"What, that's it?" Sheila questioned with a raised eyebrow. "You're just gonna give up?"

"It's not like we can do anything about this She," Wolf explained. "The only people that disagree with this stance the CDF has on this damn war is you, me, and Fox. Not much three people can do against an entire military hell-bent on wiping this planet clean of all life."

"We have to try something," Sheila stated, but Wolf shook his head.

"We can't," he responded. "If you're implying we fight everyone off and force them to retract their troops, then you're insane. That's suicide trying to fight an opponent that exponentially outnumbers you."

"But that's not what Nate wanted," Sheila argued.

"Nate wanted us to stay safe," Wolf said sternly as he lifted his body up and sat on the bedside in front of the husky. "He wanted you and me to stay safe. If we try and fight against the CDF; we're gonna get killed. _That's_ not what Nate wanted from us."

"Didn't he want you to avenge him and fight for his cause?"

"No," Wolf lied, trying his best to disprove the husky. "It's a lost cause, She. If James didn't accept the information when it was right in front of his nose, then he's never gonna stop until his desires are satisfied."

"But you said–"

"I know what I said!" Wolf suddenly snapped, then after his outburst he clutched at his forehead and dropped his nose in shame at the fact he had just exploded at her. He calmed himself down a bit, then continued in a low voice.

"I don't want you getting hurt Sheila," he continued shakily. "The reason I don't want to fight back is because I love you too much to see you get hurt. I don't want to lose you."

Sheila's eyes started to tear up as Wolf removed his paw from his face, revealing his own watery eyes. She sat up, then leaned over and hugged the lupine strongly and warmly.

"I can't take the risk," Wolf admitted, hugging her neck and rubbing his muzzle into her hair. "I would with anyone else, but not you. I care about you way too much to see you get killed. You're all I have."

She backed out of the lupine's grasp, then as fast as she escaped she forced her muzzle into his. Wolf grabbed the back of her head and brought her in closer, then fought with her tongue for a few moments before backing away and gasping for breath.

"I love you too Wolf," she said after regaining her own breath, then pulled him back onto the bed. As soon as the husky repositioned herself on the bed, she felt Wolf's paws work around her midsection and pull her in closer to the lupine's warmth.

"Don't worry She," he said softly, nuzzling closer to the husky. "I'll keep you safe. We'll find a way out of this… I'm sure of it…"

* * *

**\/ \/ \/ \/ \/**

* * *

**A/N: My apologies for the... I guess _lack_ of action this update. It's a big swing to go from the intensity of the last two updates down to this one, but don't worry, I've got a plan. I'm working on another update to this that should go up later in the week, so if I'm a little "lacking" in this update, I'll make up for it next chapter.**

**That being said, for this next chapter, I'm gonna need you guys' help. If you are interested in lending a hand, send a message my way saying you are, and I'll respond with details. I hope to hear from you guys soon, and preferably as soon as possible so I can make this update happen as quick as I intended it too. **

**Anyway, as usual, lemme know what you guys think, and I'll see you guys next update! Here's one last song to end it off on. Take care guys!**

* * *

_On pins and needles we are waiting for the fall  
We count the days scratching lines on the wall  
Wait in the wings at someone's beck and call  
No longer recognize the place that I call home  
No longer recognize this face as my own  
Somewhere, this fate, I lost control_

_We backed down, we took no  
For answers far too long  
We felt those walls close around_

_I don't want to be here anymore  
I know there's nothing left worth staying for  
Your paradise is something I've endured  
See I don't think I can fight this anymore  
I'm listening with one foot out the door  
And something has to die to be reborn  
And I don't want to be here anymore_

_*Rise Against – I Don't Want To Be Here Anymore*_


	20. Corneria Belle

**A/N: As promised, here's your second update this week. I absolutely love this chapter, and the main reason why I'll get to right now.  
**

**This chapter was essentially created by you guys. Granted, the idea here came from me, but the way it was executed was all you guys. I just want to take the time right here and give huge shout-outs to Johnwolf234, Demo ODST, Immortal Drake, themasterofcircuits, tomwilliams1990, FullSpartand, and three others that prefer to remain anonymous. I just want to say; you guys are awesome, and this chapter is dedicated to you guys. I hope you enjoy it.**

**For the rest of you who may not know, those guys listed above essentially came up with the character list for this particular chapter. I won't spoil any more than that. So, that being said, I hope you guys like this, and let me know if you want more opportunities like this in the future. I actually had to cut off a few characters, so if you are one of the people who sent in a character and you don't see him/her in this chapter, don't worry. I'll make sure that he/she will make it in later. Until then, please enjoy, and as always, tell me what you think.**

**Again, thanks to the guys listed above, and I hope you enjoy. Take care fellas!**

* * *

_"What are you talking about? America's not going to be destroyed."  
"Never?"  
"…Well…"  
"Rome was destroyed, Greece was destroyed, Persia was destroyed, Spain was destroyed; all great countries are destroyed… Why not yours? How much longer do you think your country will last? …Forever?"  
"…Well forever is a long time."  
"Very long."  
– Catch - 22_

* * *

**DAY FOUR**

* * *

**CMD Cerinia – Cornerian Military Destroyer 5 (Airspace of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)**

"Assault squadron, report in," a cobalt blue wolf commanded, gazing out of the window of the bridge and looking out at a sprawling city. At first glance, it was blatantly obvious that the city below was heavily populated, which was all the motivation Brigadier Klas Yuçernis needed to get his energy pumping.

Klas was one of the few Cornerian militants that hailed from the outskirt planet Cerinia. He was a well-respected warrior in his faction, standing at six foot six and nearly two hundred and thirty-five pounds. He was a tribal leader on Cerinia, and after Corneria established relations with the planet, they sent over delegates to train and learn about Cornerian protocol when it came to warfare. Klas was one of the delegates sent, and in only two months he had more training than anyone on Cerinia could ever hope to learn in their entire lifetime. Klas loved the training so much, he decided to stay in the CDF, and in a few years' time he had worked his way up to commanding his own Destroyer.

That same Destroyer was looming over the Earthly city Vancouver, and his mission from General Pepper was to take his cruiser and wipe out cities along the coastline of the massive continent spanning hundreds of miles south from their current position. He was rushed into combat short-noticed, so his cobalt blue fur was patchy and matted, and his longer, much darker navy blue hair that ran around his black tipped ears was tangled and bushy, much like his white tipped tail. His black tribal tattoos on his cheeks, forehead, and white-furred lower neck were intimidating to say the least, mainly because Cerinian tattoos were a symbol of authority. Klas took that authority to heart, and rarely anyone got in his way for fear he would mop the floor with them. He turned his piercing turquoise eyes to the main bridge attendant (other than himself) and gave a grin with his snow white muzzle that could make the most mature adults piss themselves in fear.

"Radio lines working for them?" he asked in a surprisingly calm tone.

"Should be," a yellow canary replied. "Try again; just adjusted frequency."

Klas nodded and lowered his microphone. "Assault squadron, report in," he barked firmly in his heavily Cerinian accented tongue, and even though the people on the bridge weren't being spoken to directly, they still cringed and ducked down slightly as he spoke.

"Ring leader, checking in," the main fighter pilot responded, then soon thereafter the other pilots started reporting their status.

"Bomber four, all loaded up."

"Fighter two, systems optimal."

"Bomber one, ready."

"Fighter five, checking in."

"Fighter three, all clear."

"Bomber three, standing by."

"Bomber five, ready."

"Fighter four, weapons clear."

"Bomber two, checking in."

"All ships are ready," the avian stated. "Whenever you're ready, sir."

Klas smirked and inched closer to his control panel, then placed a large blue paw over a silver switch.

"All fighters, you are clear to engage. Pave the way," he commanded, flicking the switch. Almost instantly, the five silver and blue fighters exited the Destroyer and began to circle around the cruiser to scan for enemies. After a full scan had been completed, the ring leader spoke up again.

"Airspace is clear, sir," he spoke, reassuring the large Cerinian wolf. He gave a faint chuckle, then placed his claw over another switch.

"All bombers, you are clear to engage... Bring 'em hell, boys."

A few seconds later, five large, sleek, and silver ships flew in front of the Destroyer and slipped into a V formation. Cornerian bombers were originally an experiment by the CDF, but the experiment worked so well that they ended up mass-producing the ships for further combat. They were downright massive – easily five times longer than conventional Arwings, and required two long support wings on either side to keep the aircrafts stable. They were nicknamed "Hellbringers" due to the amount of ammunition they could carry. Each bomber had hundreds of highly volatile nova bombs at their disposal, as well as having two separate gunners manned by other Cornerians on either side of the open-air hull near the wings, and a third mounted at the tail. These ships were heavy, slow moving aircrafts, which required the extra gunners to repel fighters that tried to take the colossal ships down.

One bomber in particular, the third one in the squadron, was especially devastating. The official name for the bomber was _The Vulpine Spirit_, but "_Laserproof Leah_" was her affectionate nickname, given to the ship as a result of flying three separate tours over Venom without a single scratch on her. The crew – a seven man battalion with as much experience with the bomber as the person who invented the model of the craft itself – was the Destroyer's pride and joy. Captain Kyle Reeves, a tall but rather slim brown-furred wolf and husky hybrid was the main pilot of the bomber. He tilted his ship to the left to reform his formation, then lowered his headset as he spoke to the crew in the back.

"Alright guys, go ahead and call in to see if your gear is working," Kyle suggested.

"Alex Steele, checking in," a medium sized white tod announced, adjusting the holographic scope on his massive automatic weapon facing out the right side of the aircraft.

"Derrick Woods, checking in," a sandy brown vulpine echoed quietly and almost inaudibly, doing one last-minute check of his tail turret controls.

"Dana Johann, checking in," a female German shepherd/Labrador mix replied, muffled by the copious amounts of explosives strapped into the bomber she was standing behind.

"Mark Wilson, checking in," a large jet black fox said as he made sure his left side turret was moving the way it was supposed to.

"Austin Rudolph, checking in," a blonde wolf with a pair of glasses perched on his muzzle responded, crouching down near the female canine and checked to see if the controls to the locking mechanism for the explosives were correctly wired.

"Sabrina Garretson, checking in," a female cheetah responded confidently, strapping herself into the seat right next to the cargo hold. The husky hybrid nodded in approval, then turned back to his controls and spoke on the radio line.

"This is Captain Reeves. We're within thirty klicks of our target, so keep your eyes peeled, and if you see any human jets, bring 'em down. Am I clear?"

All pilots responded positively, prompting the hybrid to dive forward to punch through a thick layer of clouds. He glanced back and saw the shepherd struggling with the explosives, then raised an eyebrow as she grunted loudly in disapproval.

"You alright back there DJ?"

The tall female hybrid gave a nasty elbow to the cargo, then lifted her head back up and slicked her long greasy hair behind her ears. "Am now. Just making sure that we don't blow ourselves up back here."

Kyle once again nodded, then shortly after all the other ships poked through a few radio signals were heard from the other fighters.

"Enemy fighters inbound, two off port side. We'll take 'em."

Two of the five support Arwings peeled off of formation and spun to face the human jets. What they were not expecting was a surprise ambush from behind the bomber squadron where two different human jets were hurtling towards the two Arwings at a ninety degree angle. Due to the fact that the Arwings were not built to withstand human weaponry, the surprise missile launched from the sleek human jet caught the one Arwing pilot off guard – detonating his fighter without any warning. The other pilots took offence to the surprise attack, then not too far after a dogfight was taking place around the airspace of the five bombers that were hell-bent on leaving a crater a mile wide in their target city.

"Sir, our squadron just got ambushed," the yellow canary spoke up. Klas growled menacingly as he bared his unnaturally long canine teeth, making the avian's spine freeze over.

"They holding up alright?" he responded in a tone that contrasted sharply with his expression.

"One fighter is down, but the others are still in working condition. They're about twenty-three klicks from target."

Klas let out a long breath of air through his nose, then turned his attention to the window where he could see the dogfight escalate. Bright blue lasers and yellow-orange muzzle flashes lit up the cloud covered sky, but it looked as though the number of muzzle flashes did not start to diminish.

Kyle's bomber kept her course. Both vulpine side gunners and tail gunner had their work cut out for them; essentially blind-firing out of their holographic crosshairs towards the human's yellow flashes. Captain Reeves kept his calm as he had always done in situations like this before, but he still felt his fur crawl as the sounds of loud machine guns did not dissipate. He was starting to take a bit of fire, and with his shields useless against this kind of enemy, he could only pray that he finished his mission like he had always done. Unscathed.

The second bomber was not having as fun a time as the wolf-dog, however. Kyle saw the right G-diffuser on the ship start to smoke as it kept tanking round after round of machine gun fire. His concern quickly transitioned to fear as the next barrage of fire it took turned out to be a crippling blow to the bomber. The G-diffuser ignited, and just as fast as it was blanketed in flames it started to dip towards the surface. He was relegated to watching in horror as the bomber dove out of view, then even through the loudness of the surrounding gunfire, he could still hear the audible boom as the bomber impacted the ground.

"Oh shit," DJ exclaimed, tightly holding onto the support strap dangling from the ceiling of the bomber as she poked her muzzle out of the hull momentarily. "Was that Winters' bomber?"

"I think you're right," Sabrina replied with a hint of bitterness. "Hopefully those sons of bitches jumped before it hit."

"Just stay focused guys," Kyle commanded, continuously looking at his instruments. "We're sixteen klicks away from the target, then once we drop payload we can go home."

Kyle was attempting to reassure his crewmembers, but even he didn't know if they were going to be lucky enough to escape. Every time an Arwing or bomber side gunner took out one of the human's jets, it seemed as though two or three more would take its place. Pretty soon, they were getting overrun by the humans, and if they didn't drop their cargo soon they wouldn't be too far behind the second bomber battalion.

"I got this one," Mark announced, firmly planting his feet on the floor of the bomber as he trained the muzzle of his machine gun towards the human jet in question, then began his onslaught of laser fire. Most of his shots missed due to the jerking of the bomber, the erratic movements of the human aircraft, and the intense recoil of the machine gun, but three of his shots found their mark, which was all it took to melt the jet's wing clean off and send the fighter into a spiral. What he wasn't expecting was the spiraling jet colliding with the next bomber in line; bomber five. The jet exploded onto the left wing of the bomber, essentially vaporizing the aircraft's appendage and caused the G-diffuser to malfunction. With the force of gravity and the lack of a stabilizing wing, the bomber quickly began losing altitude, and just like the first incident, it had no indication of letting up until it hit the terrain below. The jet black fox that essentially caused friendly fire watched the plummeting bomber with a horrified and guilt-stricken stare.

"We're dropping like flies!" the first bomber pilot exclaimed through the radio, then not soon after another Arwing erupted into flames right next to them as yet another human missile impacted the fighter.

"Sir, they're getting overrun," the avian said shakily, trying his best not to incite the Cerinian's anger, but that worked as well as trying to light a match underwater. Klas drove his paw into the armrest of his chair harshly, then as he stood up he revealed a large dent in the chair in the shape of an unnaturally large paw print.

"How?" he interrogated. The yellow canary gulped and responded with a slight stutter.

"There's t-too many of them. We can't keep up with the increase in resistance." Klas growled loudly as he stepped back over to the comms panel.

"Bombers one and four; break formation. Converge on the target, but keep your distance on the others."

"Understood, sir," the fourth bomber's pilot responded, then trailed off to the left with a support Arwing closely pursuing. Right as the first bomber broke formation as well, the Cerinian's Destroyer started rocking. It was apparent now that the human jets didn't want to bother with smaller fish and went straight for the shark.

"Get turrets running, now!" the cobalt wolf commanded, instantly scrambling the bridge into controlled chaos. Some extra soldiers that were waiting in the hull of the cruiser were suddenly thrown into action by controlling the fifteen separate energy cannons scattered around the hull. Shots from those turrets were plentiful, but accurate as they took down one after another fighter jet. Their job was painstakingly difficult due to the fact that the human pilots were blatantly well trained, and they obviously knew exactly what they were doing. Protecting themselves.

"Target within nine klicks," Kyle announced over the sounds of machine gun fire around them. Austin nodded, then pressed a button which opened the drop doors below the copious amounts of explosives. They were only supposed to launch a fraction of what they had to conserve resources, but it was still enough explosives to make Michael Bay's jaw drop.

Perfect timing came into play, and not in a good way. Right as the bombers were going to converge on their supposed drop sight, another wave of human forces came in. Not only were there F-22 lining the sky now, there were also a few of the hideous looking death-bringers from Boston closely pursuing that squadron. As they came within range, the ear-splitting and heart-stopping whirring sound returned to Cornerian ears, then right as the noise was about to drive them insane–

_BRRRRRRRRRRRRRT_

An onslaught of metal bullets swarmed the bombers like hornets, and every time a bullet would hit the Cornerian metal it would echo a loud sound reminiscent of hitting a hammer against a sheet of scrap metal. Kyle's ship took the brunt of the attack, then after the planes had finished their siege upon the massive aircrafts he heard the somewhat smaller white vulpine curse.

"Aw fuck, there's a hole the size of my dick in the right G-diffuser!" he said somewhat humorously, but in their situation it was considered a sin to laugh. Kyle grunted in acknowledgement, then adjusted some of his instruments to accommodate for the damage received.

"Commander Yuçernis; we've taken some heavy damage," he called, struggling to keep his bomber leveled out.

"Keep on course," the Cerinian lupine commanded. "You guys are almost there. Just drop the package and turn back immediately. We can't afford to lose more men."

Another round of the god-awful rotary gun on their ship and they were finished. They were close enough to the ground that they didn't need supplemental oxygen, but Kyle kept his oxygen mask over his muzzle because he seemed to be struggling to take in air. He shakily tilted his bomber about five degrees to the right, then after another attempt at a leveling maneuver he flicked a switch on the control panel.

"Four klicks!" he shouted. The left gunner started another barrage of cover fire, eliminating another jet as it closed in on their location, but that one came too close for comfort. If he would have let that jet get a few feet closer they would have gone up in flames right then and there.

"Two!" he counted down, prompting the female shepherd bomb manager to stagger over to her position to ensure the drop happened when it was supposed to. She just happened to look out of the right gunner's window, just in time to see one of the humans' A10 planes erupt into flames before it could start another onslaught on the fourth bomber. She sighed a breath of relief, then after pushing her voluminous hair behind her ears again she placed her paw over the switch to drop their present.

"Get ready!" Kyle continued, seeing his target slowly inch closer on his small radar screen. Painfully long seconds ensued with an eerie silence accompanying it, then it seemed as time itself stopped as his crosshair completely overlapped the target marked.

"Now DJ!" he barked, and a split-second later Dana had activated the switch on the back of the bomber, causing a large sum of their payload to drop from the locking mechanism and down to the ground below. Earthquake-like tremors ensued after the bombs dropped, shaking the terrain wildly as the pale blue glow of the bombs lit up the surface like a firework showing.

The hybrid exhaled loudly as he shut the cargo doors after their entire designated amount of explosives left the aircraft. He quickly tilted his joystick in the opposite direction to head back to the Destroyer, but they still had some opposition in front of them. If they thought the humans were mad with their presence at first, then they were absolutely livid now that their city below was nothing more than charred debris.

"Sir, bomb run successful," he said, tilting his joystick up to poke through the thick layer of clouds again. "We're still taking fire, so any help you could give us that'd be great."

Klas obliged, then turned his muzzle to the weapons manager. "Tell our front three turrets to focus fire on any hostile aircrafts in and around bomber three's path. They deserve to come home."

Kyle inched his aircraft upwards just a little bit to allow the lasers stemming from what he could see of the Destroyer off in the distance to find their intended destinations. He tried what he could to increase his speed to try and get there quicker, but that only made the damage to the wing of the bomber worse. The metal covering some of the circuitry was starting to peel off, and that was becoming a large and prime target for the humans' fire.

Then, his worst fear became reality.

The lack of protection against the human weaponry turned out to be a devastating blow to Kyle's bomber. An A10 missile detonated on the long wing where the circuitry was showing, causing the entire appendage of the plane to be sheared off. He cursed loudly as he was violently tossed around in his cockpit, and as his aircraft started to loose altitude he radioed in to the Cerinian Brigadier.

"I'm hit," he grunted, tearing off his oxygen mask and trying to keep his bomber leveled out but failing miserably in doing so. "I won't be able to make it to the hanger in time. I'm gonna have to land her on the surface."

Austin heard his plans and quickly rushed up behind him. "Sir, the surface is crawling with humans! We can't land there and expect to get out alive!"

"I don't have enough power to get to the Destroyer," Kyle answered, pulling up on his joystick, but having his aircraft do the opposite. "We'll manage when we get to the surface."

"You're gonna get us all killed!" the lupine retorted shakily.

"What choice do I have?" Kyle snapped. "Try to get to the Destroyer, and end up crashing our ship with the lack of control I have, or improvise a landing on the surface and make our way from there? It's our only chance!"

The wolf hesitated, then grunted as he slipped alongside the hybrid. "Then you're gonna need a co-pilot."

"No, you take care of the excess explosives," Kyle commanded. "Make sure they don't detonate once we hit land. I'm not counting on a pretty landing; that's for damn sure."

Austin obliged and did what the hybrid instructed of him to do. As he was securing the explosives, the Cerinian wolf came back on the line.

"We'll get you a recovery party as soon as we clear out all these fighters," Klas promised, but Kyle thought differently.

"No, you can continue these missions without us, sir. We can hold tight until your campaign is done, then you can come back for us."

"Are you sure about this Captain?" he asked, but with the radio becoming more and more static-plagued it was difficult to comprehend him.

"I can take care of myself, sir," he replied confidently. "I've got an amazing crew with me. We'll hold out here until you guys come back."

"Alright, I'm trusting you here," Klas remarked. "Don't make me regret doing it."

"Understood sir. Wish me luck," he added, just as the radio cut out completely. He tossed his headset aside, then tightly clamped both of his paws on the joystick and pulled on it as hard as he could. He was losing altitude, but at least he kept the nose up long enough so it didn't start tearing the ship apart before it even hit the surface.

What was once a highly respected bomber flying high just beneath the clouds was now a bomber heavily crippled and beginning to take the tips off of trees. The hybrid looked back just in time to see that all of his crewmembers had strapped themselves in, then pushed on his joystick lightly. The bomber lurched forward and impacted the ground harshly, making the occupants shake violently as the bomber carved out a path in the earth, taking out countless trees in the process. After digging over a hundred-foot-long trench in the earth with his aircraft, he finally came to a rocky stop as his bomber propped itself against a giant unmoving tree.

Kyle was panting heavily with both of his paws still tightly grasping the control stick even moments after the bomber had stopped moving. It finally took the jet black vulpine stepping into the cockpit and placing a paw over his shoulder to snap him out of his frozen state.

"You did it Captain," Mark said, himself breathing heavily. "We're all alright back here."

The wolf-dog continued to hold onto the joystick, but he eventually started chuckling breathily in disbelief as a large smile creased his muzzle. He gasped for air momentarily and finally let go of his controls as he slouched in his seat after unbuckling his safety harness. After regaining his bearings and his breath, he picked himself out of his seat and stepped out of the cockpit.

"And you guys say you can't stand my flying," he taunted with a smirk.

"Not that we can't stand it, but it scares the living shit out of us," Alex chuckled. Kyle grinned, then stepped out of the crippled aircraft and onto the grassy ground below. He took a glance in all directions around himself, and after seeing nothing but trees and the sides of cliff faces he turned back to the bomber crew.

"Looks like we lucked out," he stated, glancing at his wrist transmitter. "We landed in an area with no ground troops."

"They're gonna come looking for us, the human are," Sabrina remarked.

"I know," Kyle responded with confidence. "Get everything you guys might need for a little journey packed up. Food, weapons, everything. We need to get out of here. Now."

"Where are we gonna go, Captain?" Austin asked. The hybrid looked at the sky for a few moments, then stared at the rest of the crew with his piercing pale blue eyes.

"Anywhere but here."

**##########**

"I sure hope that bomber crew knows what they're doing," Klas mumbled with a paw over his head. It had been roughly twenty minutes since he lost radio signal with the bomber, and like the hybrid Captain instructed him to do, he kept his course heading south on the continent. He had fought off the rest of the human resistance, although the Destroyer herself wasn't in the best condition. She had taken quite a few hits, but she was a massive dreadnaught warship; she wouldn't go down because of a few missiles. She could tank much more than that.

He knew damn well that Kyle was right in saying he could hold his own with his crew. That was one of, if not his best battalion on his entire cruiser. The wolf-dog would be fine on the surface while they continued out their mission, but Klas was more worried about himself. How was the rest of his bomb runs supposed to be successful if he didn't have his top bomber in the sky?

It's be important to say that Cerinians were almost always religious, and if anyone thought Klas wasn't, they'd be sorely mistaken. He wasn't doing anything else other than praying at this current moment. Praying that his mission wouldn't go wrong in more ways than one, and praying that Capitan Reeves and his crew would survive on the surface crawling with enemy soldiers. He may not express it much, but he does care for his crew. All of his crew. Every single one of those brave soldiers risking their lives in what was the most dangerous war any Cornerian had ever fought to date. They had more courage than he did, and that was saying something.

The yellow avian near the wolf raised up a wing suddenly. "Sir, there's… something off of our starboard bow."

"What's wrong?" The Cerinian asked.

The bird poked at his machines in front of him for a split-second. "Our sensors are detecting a strong energy source just off the coast of out next target."

Klas stood up and slipped behind the much smaller avian. He stared at the screen for a while with narrowed eyes, watching the energy readings of this unknown source pulsate frequently. It didn't venture far from a set amount for quite a while, then after a few seconds of watching the readings rise slightly and continuously, the graph suddenly spiked – giving a reading five times larger than the rough average. As soon as it spiked, it dipped to an almost unmeasurably small level in the same amount of time.

"What just happened?" Klas asked expectantly and confusedly. The avian shrugged his shoulders.

"Tough to say. It can't be a weapon, because all they have are kinetics. That was _pure_ energy, whatever that was. It might have been a generator the humans have, or… hell, sir, I honestly don't know."

The Cerinian wolf grunted in confusion, then turned his head to the window, but right as he gazed out into the clouds his heart fell into his stomach as he saw something hurtling towards them at incredible speed with no indication of it slowing.

"Oh you mother–"

* * *

**USS Sheppard – ****_Zumwalt_**** Class Destroyer (coast of Whidbey Island, Washington)**

A tall and masculine army officer was sitting at his desk with his head propped up on his left hand, and his right hand rolling a small model car back and forth across his desk.

The time he was spending alone in his office was starting to drive him nuts. There was an unworldly power massacring their nation, and all he could do about it was sit in a room, rolling a small model car across the length of his oak desk. It made him feel powerless, and that was something Admiral Steven Gionta was not used to feeling.

Everyone knows that size does not merit authority – rank does; and Gionta's rank contrasted sharply with his size. He was a measly five foot eight and roughly one hundred and seventy pounds, and his short blonde crew cut and lack of any facial hair only added to his rather smaller stature. Disregard his physical appearance though, because he was probably one of the smartest men enlisted in the US Navy.

And yet, why was he sitting alone in his office, relegated to rolling a model car across his desk?

The car was his good luck charm. A 42:1 scale 1969 Chevrolet Corvette, painted in a glossy metallic red finish. It had a few paint chips in it, but that was only because he kept that model car wherever he went. Whenever he was nervous, he would either have that car roll across a flat surface (such as his desk), or fidget with the openable hood on the car with his thumb. It would drive his crew insane hearing the tiny sound of the metal hood clicking against the rest of the car, but if he didn't do it he would go insane himself.

His head was slowly slipping from his hand as the boredom from sitting alone in his office started to get to him. In seconds, his head would've fallen off of his hand and landed on the oak desk below, but luckily his office door slammed open before he could give himself a headache.

"Sir!" a white clothed Navy sailor barked, getting the attention of his superior officer. "Sir we've got eyes on an enemy cruiser. It's massive!"

The Admiral bolted off of his seat, quickly pocketed the model car, then rushed after the soldier as he sped up a set of stars and slipped into the controls room. Gionta was greeted with a room full of controllers that were speaking to each other, and when there was about ten of them located in the same room, the sound of speaking that was echoing in the iron plated room was deafening.

"What's going on?" Gionta snapped, quieting the room instantly. The soldier that had rushed down to pick him up was the one to wave his arm in the air to signal him to come closer. He obliged, then stared at the radar screen he was standing by.

"It's one of the alien warships," he explained. "They're heading this way, and fast!"

The Admiral quickly sped over to the nearest window in the controls room, then managed to locate the miniscule silhouette of an alien design hiding in the clouds. It was small because of how far away it was, but if consistency was a thing that existed, it was going to be downright massive when it was closer.

"Get our men to battle stations," he commanded, continuously staring out of the window. "I've got an idea."

A faint alarm was heard in the depths of the ship, and as it was screaming another soldier trotted up to the Admiral. "What's your plan, sir?"

He turned his head away from the window and gave the soldier a slight devilish grin. "We're gonna test out our new toy on our unwelcome visitors."

"The railgun?" the officer asked skeptically. Gionta nodded in approval.

"We could try and hit them with conventional means of rocket propulsion, but they move too slow – they'd be able to shoot them down before they got there. It's our only option."

"But what if the gun backfires? This is a brand new ship, sir; we've never tested the railgun on her before."

"It's worth the risk," he replied sternly. "I'd rather have this backfire and kill us all, than have those aliens capture us… or worse…"

The soldier could only nod in approval with a terrified expression. The Admiral continued after a brief silence.

"You know the code; it's better to die on your feet than to live on your knees. I'd rather die knowing I tried to stop them, then live knowing I let another one of our cities fall… …Start running our generators on full power, and divert all the needed energy to the railgun."

"What are we gonna fire at them, sir?" the soldier asked.

"Get our nuclear tipped warheads strapped in," the Admiral suggested, causing the soldier's eyes to shoot open.

"Sir, we've never tried nukes with the railgun before! What if the electrical surges set off the charge?"

"Again, it's worth the risk," he replied. "We've put enough research and time into perfecting launches that have unnaturally high energy readings–such as the railgun–with nukes. We won't be able to take down a warship of that size unless we go straight to the big guns. We need that warship down before it levels another city."

The soldier nodded, then exited the main room. Gionta turned his focus back to the window, then gasped inaudibly as he saw the warship punch through the thick clouds.

It looked like something from Star Wars. A massive Star Destroyer looking spacecraft (minus the large protruding bridge on top), easily exceeding three hundred feet in length and painted in a pure white color. There were patterns of royal blue markings all along the hull of the warship, all converging on a point towards the tip of the cruiser that he deduced was the main bridge. There were visible turrets located all over the massive ship, along with a few hangar doors that found their home on the sides and the underbelly of the warship. There was a pale blue glow emanating from behind the ship which was coming from numerous thrusters, and an almost unnoticeable green glow seeping out of different areas all over. The Admiral shuddered, then turned to face the crew.

"Are we all set?"

"Coordinates are locking as we speak, and the weapon is being mounted," one controller spoke. "We're still waiting on power transfer."

Gionta growled slightly, then turned his focus to the warship again. It was inching dangerously close to their position, and if they didn't do anything about it soon they would fall closely behind Vancouver. Eventually, one by one the people in the room started speaking to announce their readiness.

"Power at 79%."

"Coordinates locked."

"Clear weapons deck, repeat, clear weapons deck."

"Power 85%."

"Magnetic field charging."

"Raise trajectory by thirty meters."

"I sure hope the ten years of research we spent on this pays off," one soldier remarked, staring at his controls as more and more soldiers started speaking up.

"Power 91%."

"Adjust electrical output."

Gionta picked the small model car out of his pocket, then started fidgeting with the hood as the voices continued from the other controllers.

"Power 97%"

"Target velocity acquired, adjusting trajectory to accommodate."

"Full power achieved, prepare for launch."

"Energy transfer complete; launch sequence initiated."

Admiral Gionta took in a deep breath.

"Five."

His car hood shut with a _click_.

"Four."

The humming of the railgun could be heard throughout the ship as the energy readings picked up.

"Three."

_Click_.

"Two."

Another loud hum coming from the turret adjusting started up, drowning out the humming of the electromagnet weapon.

"One."

_Click_.

_Goodbye you sons of bitches._

"Fire."

A flurry of noises ensued in the next couple seconds. The most predominant sound was the sound of electrical charges passing through both rails of the weapon; causing the projectile mounted in between the rails to be launched at Mach 7 towards the Cornerian Destroyer. That was the next sound; a sonic boom after launch where the nuclear warhead shot out of the railgun like a bullet out of a machine gun, but multiply the velocity by about ten for a better comparison. The next sound was a chorus of sighs of relief at the sight of a successful launch without any failures from the controllers in the room. The final sound was one last _click_ from the Admiral's car.

The next ensuing seconds were absolutely silent. Nobody dared to make a noise, or even take in a breath of air as they watched their projectile practically warp towards the frigate.

Then… Impact.

**_BOOM_**

Blinding white light temporarily blinded the crew of the USS Sheppard as the warhead came into contact with the alien spacecraft. Even with the distance the American Destroyer had on the Cornerian Destroyer, the boat still rocked faintly from the shockwave of the explosion. As the light dissipated, all they could see was a dark plume of smoke from where the frigate was once located. The distinct mushroom shaped cloud of smoke was oddly satisfying for the crew, and as the plume raised upwards, the remnants of the cruiser dropped through the cloud.

Over half of the cruiser was completely gone, and the remaining parts of it were completely shrouded in white hot flames. The fire was so hot and intense it was beginning to melt off some remaining scraps of metal that were still connected with the cruiser. The burning cruiser continued to inch closer to the ground below, or in this case, water.

What was left of the Destroyer submerged into the water with an audible splash, causing a large tidal wave from the impact site. The crew of the USS Sheppard instantly started cheering and howling in success as the cruiser sank into the water. The large boat started rocking even more as the waves resulting from the impact tossed their ship wildly, but even through the violent rocking they could still see the alien warship sink into the depths of the ocean completely.

"Good work boys," Admiral Gionta announced with a relieved smile. "That should knock some sense into 'em."

He cracked his knuckles, then glanced back over at the dark cloud that was produced with the detonation of the nuclear warhead. He grinned to himself as he folded his arms – still with the red model car tightly grasped in his right hand.

_Keep this shit up, and there will be more where that came from._

* * *

_"You're a shameful opportunist! What you don't understand is that it's better to die on your feet than to live on your knees."  
"You have it backwards… It's better to live on your feet than to die on your knees."_

_Don't carry on, just walk away  
How many more sent to their graves  
In this lesson ignored?  
I fought your fight, bought your lie  
And in return I lost my life  
What purpose does this serve?  
What purpose did I serve?_

_*Rise Against – Survivor's Guilt*_


	21. Breaking Point

**A/N: So, the day after the last chapter was posted, this story as a whole broke 10,000 views. To that I say... holy shit. Oh my god you guys are so amazing! Seriously! You guys are the best! I would've never thought in a million years this story would be able to top that milestone. You guys have far exceeded my expectations, and I seriously can't thank you enough.  
**

**Ironically, this chapter here broke 10K words too. Coincidence? Absolutely. :)**

**So, as per usual, tell me what you guys think (because at the time of posting this I'll be three reviews away from breaking triple digits, and if that happens I may or may not cry). Also, special shout-out to VulpineLover for a bit of assistance with this chapter. If you're reading this, I did actually change a little bit of what you suggested, but the general makeup of it is still there. Again, thanks bud! :)**

**Regardless, thanks for helping me top this giant milestone, and hopefully this chapter is a good enough reward. Hope you guys enjoy, and take care!  
\- Also, dual songs again for extra reward. :D  
**

* * *

_I am a new day rising  
I'm a brand new sky  
to hang the stars upon tonight  
I am a little divided  
do I stay or run away  
and leave it all behind?_

_It's times like these you learn to live again  
It's times like these you give and give again  
It's times like these you learn to love again  
It's times like these time and time again_

_*Foo Fighters – Times Like These*_

* * *

**Just outside Prairie City, Iowa**

"Please tell me you called them," Sharp grumbled at the copper husky. Kassian nodded with a proud expression plastered onto his muzzle.

"Comms came back up late last night, and I was able to patch a call through to Destroyer eight. They should be coming to pick us up really soon."

"You gave them the coordinates?"

"Sorta," Kassian replied, scratching the back of his neck. "I gave them a description of the area we are stranded in."

"What, _cornfields_?" Sharp snapped. "We're surrounded by fucking cornfields! How the fuck are they supposed to distinguish one fucking cornfield from another?!"

"Relax, Sharpie," Kassian chuckled, pulling out a cylindrical stick from the human's backpack that was sitting comfortably on the kitchen counter. "I told them to look for the red flare. We'll be fine."

"Unless the Commander is fucking colorblind!"

"Sharp, chill," Kurt commanded. "They know what a flare is, regardless of its color. You're too paranoid."

Sharp opened his muzzle to protest, but the female husky quickly butted in and placed her paw over his nose.

"Go lie down Sharpie," Christina pleaded. "You need some rest."

"I'm fin–"

"Please," she interrupted sweetly. Sharp hesitated, but eventually lowered his ears and trotted over to the unoccupied couch. He placed a paw over his eyes as he let his head rest on the armrest after throwing himself onto the upholstery.

"I'll go wait outside and see if I can find 'em," Kurt announced, swiping the red flare from the copper husky's paw. He limped to the back door of the kitchen and stepped outside, and after his tail feathers disappeared around the doorframe Christina trotted over to the vulpine who was still sound asleep on the sofa.

"How's he doing?" Kassian asked.

"He's still in rough shape, but he'll live," Christina replied. "There's nothing I can do to improve his condition. We just need to sit tight and wait for that Destroyer to pick us up."

Kassian nodded and slipped back into the kitchen. Christina crouched down and ran her paw through Brendan's jet black hair, smiling all the while. Although he was critically injured, she couldn't help but express her affection with him. Even when injured and asleep, he still had the faint trace of a smile plastered onto his abused muzzle. Her heart fluttered when his smile seemed to grow with every stroke the husky made on his hair.

"Chris, quit playin' around," Sharp muttered abruptly.

"What?" the female husky asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Pullin' my tail," he responded.

"I'm nowhere near your tail."

Sharp's eyes instantly shot wide open, then less than a second later he had bolted up and looked towards the end of the couch where his dark tail was lying. Seeing nothing, he hesitantly stood up and looked behind the couch, and what he saw could have made his eyes grow even larger if they would have allowed him to.

Sitting behind the couch, curled up into a ball with an absolutely terrified expression was what looked to be a human child. A little girl to be exact, with unkempt long blonde hair and light blue eyes. She couldn't have been older than seven, and was extremely short and thin. She was staring at the husky with the face of sheer terror, clutching her vulpine stuffed animal tightly.

Sharp nearly gasped at the sight, then slightly tilted his head towards the female husky. "Chris," he whispered almost silently with clenched teeth. "Chris, get over here, _now_."

Christina hesitantly stepped around the couch, and at the sight of the human child she instantly froze up. The little girl saw the other husky, and this time she was not subtle with her dissatisfaction. She whimpered and started scooting away from the couch, then once her back pressed up against the back wall she curled back into her knees, visibly trembling in the process.

Christina activated her translator and spoke in the most reassuring voice she could muster. "Hey, it's alright."

The little girl's head instantly bolted up at the sound of hearing a familiar language from the canine. "He… Hello?"

"Hi," Christina grinned. She was about to continue but was stopped when she heard a growl resound from behind her. She glanced at the source of the noise, then nearly gasped at a female canine face strikingly similar to her own, but the eyes were smaller, and the biggest difference was that the canine was standing on all fours. Christina tried to take a step forward, but the blonde husky instantly bolted around her and stood in front of the human girl, attempting to guard her.

"Bell!" the girl squealed, abandoning her safe haven to hug the domestic husky. The smaller canine stopped her hostility towards the humanized husky and nuzzled closer to the human.

"She yours?" Christina asked. The human child nodded.

"What's your name, sweetie?" Sharp asked in a surprisingly warm tone that even caught Christina off guard.

"Emily," the girl answered softly.

"Where's your parents, Emily?"

"I don't know," she replied pitifully. "They went to the city yesterday, and they haven't come back yet."

Sharp looked over at Christina who had an expression of guilt and regret. She inched closer to the human and the dog and crouched down near them, then held out her paw. Emily tensed up and buried her face into the canine, but Bell lowered her head and sniffed the paw. After Bell had deciphered the smell, she stood up and nuzzled closer to the humanized canine with her tail wagging.

"Good girl," Christina grinned, petting the domestic canine's head.

"My doggy likes you," Emily giggled, calming down slightly. "You're like a really big doggy. What's your name?"

"My name's Christina," she replied. "That's Alex," she added as she poked a paw at the darker husky.

Emily stood up, still with her stuffed fox tightly grasped in her arms, then slipped alongside Bell and started scratching behind her ears. "Why are you here?" she asked, not making eye contact.

"Our ship got shot down," the husky responded. "We needed a place to stay for the night."

"Oh, you can stay here as long as you want," Emily said with a grin. "My daddy won't mind."

Christina cringed as the human girl smiled again and continued to pet her companion. The female husky placed a paw on Emily's shoulder and exhaled slowly.

"Honey, I don't think your daddy is coming home," she explained with a heavy heart.

"Of course he is," Emily protested. "He just went to the store to get food. Mommy is too."

"Emily, sweetie, I think we did something really bad."

"No, daddy said you guys are really nice," she said with a smile. Christina raised an eyebrow almost instantly.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't be silly," she giggled again. "You're from Corneea, right?"

Christina's muzzle instantly opened wide as she cranked her head around to the larger husky. "How does she know?"

"My daddy told me," the human explained. "He works for this really cool space place, and the other day he sent a really big sa… sata…"

"Satellite?" Christina asked.

"Yeah, that!" she said enthusiastically, but then her smile faded almost instantly afterward. "When he came home, he told me that it didn't work, but he was gonna send another one really soon. I don't think he needs to anymore, because you guys came to visit!"

Sharp let out a long breath of air through his nose, then stepped around the couch and knelt down by the two females. "So, the satellite didn't work?"

"Nope," Emily replied. "Daddy said it messed up really bad."

"I knew it," he muttered under his breath.

"We all did, Sharpie," Christina added. "We _all_ messed up."

"Are you gonna leave soon?" Emily asked abruptly. Sharp instantly nodded his head.

"Sorry sweetie, but we need to leave."

Christina bolted up and grabbed the larger husky's arm, then forced him on the other side of couch and spoke to him quietly. "We can't just leave her here."

"We can't stay here either," Sharp replied in his own quiet voice.

"Sharp, she's waiting for her parents to come home, and we probably killed them."

"I know–"

"Then we can't just leave her alone. We need to take her with us."

"Are you insane? They won't let a human on the ship."

"What choice do we have Sharp?" she questioned. "She'll die if we leave her. We can keep her on board until we can find someone willing to take her. It's all we can do."

Sharp opened his mouth to protest, but then he glanced over at the little girl who had found her way to the couch Brendan was lying on. She had a cheesy smile creasing her lips, and eventually reached over and started gently messing with the vulpine's ears.

"Alright," Sharp said in defeat. "_You_ can take care of her. We just need to wait until–"

"Hey Sharpie," Kassian shouted from the kitchen. "You might want to see this."

Sharp slowly limped from his position and trotted up to the copper husky, who was messing with what looked to be a human laptop. He looked back to make sure Christina was entertaining the human child (which she was), then slipped alongside the other husky and stared at the screen.

"Where'd you find this?" Sharp asked. Kassian pointed to a drawer at the very end of the counter, then transitioned his gaze back to the screen.

"That's not important," Kassian remarked. "What is, however, is the stuff I just found on this. Check it out."

Kassian opened a file on the screen, and after Sharp had activated his translator he began to read the words off the screen aloud.

"National Aeronautics and Space Administration employee log; Garrett Hendersen; October 15th, 2035," he started, and towards the end he donned a skeptical voice. He turned his gaze to the copper husky and gave him a confused and doubtful stare.

"Keep reading," Kassian pleaded.

Sharp groaned softly and picked up where he left off. "Bad news. Our latest project – "First Contact" – has failed. The worst part is we have no idea what happened. We never even made it to our marker before we lost our satellite's signal. It just vanished off of our radars. I even told them we should've just stuck with our satellites instead of trying to use the Cornerians' technology."

"That explains how it got here so fast," Kassian muttered under his breath as the dark husky kept reading.

"Colonel Justin Trent, our _advisor_ for this mission I guess, completely flipped shit. He was going on and on about how we might have crashed into Corneria, and if we did, we might have hit a populated area. We're still not sure of his speculations, however."

Sharp rubbed his eyes and shook his head faintly. "He's always been paranoid. Wonder how that affects his heart condition… No matter, he's just paranoid. I mean, what are the odds of us hitting a populated area? I'd probably go as far as saying a billion to one. Hell, I don't know."

"Obviously this guy was wrong," Kassian stated. Sharp completely ignored him and kept reading.

"Trent said he was going to go talk to the President. That's at least a day drive to get to D.C, and he'll have to get clearance so that's probably another day tacked onto it. He's probably going to ask for tightened security all over the nation, cause if he's right about us hitting somewhere populated, we may have a fight on our hands.

"And, well… hopefully these Cornerians can accept an apology for us accidently doing something of this magnitude. I mean, there was nothing we could do. We completely lost our signal with the satellite right before our designated marker for it to enter Cornerian orbit, and knowing our luck we did hit the planet with the lack of control we had. I just hope–if Trent is right of course–that God will have mercy on us. I know I sure don't want a fight on our hands, because I have a hard time believing we'll ever win if it does boil down to a fight. We don't even want a fight in the first place. I pray Corneria has an ounce of forgiveness and understands this situation we've found ourselves in… for our sake."

Sharp put his wrist down and stared at the copper husky with wide eyes. "Oh my god."

"This whole damn time," Kassian added. "Wolf was right this whole damn time."

"What have we done?" Sharp asked rhetorically, resting his head in his paws as he laid his elbows on the counter. "I can't believe we did this. I can't believe we are _still_ doing this. We need–"

Sharp was cut off as the kitchen door slammed open with Kurt in the doorway. "They found us! Let's go!"

Sharp nodded, then trotted over to Brendan and lifted him off the couch. As he was walking out the door with the crippled vulpine, Christina knelt down to Emily's level.

"You're leaving already?" she asked sadly. Christina nodded, but then showcased a reassuring grin.

"Yes, but I want you to come with us."

"But, my daddy will be worried," the little girl said shakily.

"We'll take good care of you, I promise," the husky responded. "We'll hold on to you until your daddy comes to get you."

"You know where he is?" Emily asked sweetly.

"Yes," Christina lied to keep the girl's hopes up. "I'll make sure you're safe. I promise."

"You promise?"

The husky nodded in approval. Emily let out a slight smile, then bent down to the blonde canine who was sitting perfectly calm and still and started to scratch behind her ears. "Can Bell come too?"

"Of course, sweetie," she responded warmly. Emily smiled wider, then followed the light gray husky out of the house and towards a small transport ship. Christina helped her into the back, and after Bell jumped into the back with her she shut the hold and slipped into her appropriate seat.

"You guys don't look too hot," the pilot of the transport ship announced. The plot was a medium sized gray pit-bull, dressed in the iconic Cornerian Military uniform, and he looked as though he hadn't slept in weeks. Sharp grunted and slouched in his seat.

"I noticed," he replied in an annoyed tone.

"Hey, don't feel too bad, buddy," the pit-bull said in an assuring tone. "I've got some news that you'll want to hear."

"What?"

The canine let out a quick burst of air though his nose, then turned his eyes to the husky and smiled.

"We might have a way of getting out of this mess."

* * *

**Outskirts of North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada**

It was damn near impossible to stay quiet with the sounds of breaking twigs, rustling leaves, and the copious amount of Cornerian weaponry and equipment clattering together on their respective owners. That sound was excruciating to the Cornerians' ears, not because it was particularly loud or anything like that, but it was overly obnoxious and repetitive since that was all they heard for over five minutes straight. Over that extended time period, they have seen nothing but trees – changing colors due to the impending climate and season change. It was a rather beautiful sight, seeing the numerous trees scattered all around flatlands and on the tops of cliff faces blooming with every color known to man or Cornerian, but they couldn't stop to admire the scenery. Not in the situation they were in.

Kyle, as to be expected, was leading the pack. Armed to the teeth with a highly versatile carbine rifle, numerous explosives and small EMP charges, and a thin but effective ballistic vest that mimicked the color of his flight suit, the hybrid was not someone you wanted to mess with. He knew how to use his specially ordered carbine, and not just in one way like typical soldiers would know how to use their particular weapon. Not only that, but he had various other forms of concealed weaponry at his disposal, and he was damn good at using them too.

Surprisingly, the next soldier in line was the sandy brown vulpine Derrick. It was surprising because he's usually the one to bring up the rear. Although he was armed fairly well compared to the hybrid in front of him, he still wasn't one to take the front lines. He was talented in combat–don't get mistaken that he isn't–but fighting on the front lines was not his forte. He'd be the one to hang back and take his opposition down from a distance, which was how he was so successful as a bounty hunter years before signing with the CDF. When he was a bounty hunter, he had gotten quite a bit of fighting experience, and when you become good at something, there will be others that are hired to take you down too. Ironically, the person hired to kill him years ago was standing closely behind him.

In fact, his long-time combat partner and even closer friend Sabrina that was trotting closely behind him was a close quarters specialist despite being a bounty hunter much like himself. She was not equipped with any rifle of sorts, but what she did have was a sawed-off shotgun from her days as an aforementioned bounty hunter long ago. She had to get special clearance from the CDF to use it during combat, but they would be stupid to not let her use it. In her non-illegal arsenal, she had dual pistols that were surprisingly accurate, as well as a homemade beam sword made entirely of pure energy, glowing in the same color as her sky blue eyes.

The "twins" were closely following the pack as well. "Twins" is implied, because Mark and Alex were practically brothers. They had been friends for as long as they could remember, and although their personalities contrasted sharply, they couldn't be any closer. Their starkly contrasting fur colors could argue the twin factor, but in combat they complemented each other perfectly. Alex was the distance fighter – eliminating his opposition from extreme, almost unheard-of distances. And to him, his polar opposite Mark complimented his distance warfare with some brutal hand-to-hand combat. Mark was built like a heavyweight boxer, and rightfully so with his line of work, but Alex… not so much.

Rounding out your dedicated combat specialists, we have the blonde lupine Austin quietly sneaking behind the line of soldiers. With all of the heavy weaponry assault squadrons are always carrying around, it's almost obligatory to have someone like Austin in the group. A talented engineer specializing in energy weaponry and mechanics, Austin is irreplaceable for Kyle's group. Although he may be relegated to the back for constant reparations and strategizing, he can hold his own on the front lines if brought to that extreme. He's always armed with his own weaponry he designed himself – consisting of a rifle that can vary in terms of the intensity of the projectiles launched, and a long beam sword made of the same technology and energy.

And finally we have DJ – a near six-foot-tall sleek black Labrador with a brawny, almost masculine shepherd stature. Embracing her tom-boyish attitude and her unnaturally large size compared to other female soldiers, she found herself in the highly entertaining and rather rewarding job of an explosives manager. Armed up to her always greasy and matted hair with explosive charges and highly destructive weaponry, she absolutely loves the sight of watching things go up in flames. Her affinity for machinery is also a very valuable asset, and often times will find herself working with Austin in reparations or brand new inventions at times.

Ten minutes have gone by now. And for Sabrina, she was starting to become a little edged. She could've sworn she had seen that same granite textured gray rock twice before, and a few moments later when she had transitioned her gaze to a tall cliff face peeking out of a canopy of colorful trees, her presumptions had been affirmed.

"We're going in circles, Kyle," she groaned, letting her head hang on her shoulders. Kyle stopped, cranked his head around in all directions, and then growled to himself.

"You're right," he admitted. "We've been here before."

"Where do we need to be going, anyway?" DJ asked. Kyle picked his nose up and sniffed a bit, prompting the two contrasting vulpines to start snickering to themselves, then after he had deciphered his surroundings he pointed off to the right.

"Coast is that way," he announced, then waved his paw in the direction of his destination as he traversed the hilly and somewhat treacherous terrain. After Austin had carefully hopped down a rather sudden decline of elevation, he pulled his wrist transmitter up to his eyes.

"I'm getting worried," he announced in a low voice. "The Destroyer stopped transmitting a while ago."

"No, _we_ stopped transmitting a while ago," DJ corrected. "There's no signal here in this god-forsaken wilderness."

"You picked a _brilliant_ place to land, Captain," Alex remarked.

"Not much choice I had in that matter," Kyle muttered under his breath, inaudible to the other soldiers.

"Did you guys hear that?" Derrick suddenly blurted out softly, and if he had resulted to talking, there obviously was something up. Kyle instantly halted, along with the rest of his crew, but even though they were not moving, they could still hear the sound of crunching leaves and snapping branches. They immediately took refuge behind nearby trees at Kyle's command, then listened in as the sounds became louder.

Kyle saw what it was. A team of five soldiers, all more than adequately equipped, silently working their way through the wilderness with their rifles raised. He silently propped his rifle against the tree trunk, then unsheathed a small combat knife and tightly grasped the hilt with the blade facing away from him. To his luck, the soldiers started splitting up, and one of them was slowly inching his way towards his hiding place. He held his breath to make absolutely no noise whatsoever, then right when the soldier came within range he pounced – driving the blade into the soldier's neck. He used his free paw to cover the soldier's mouth to prevent him from crying out, then twisted the blade which instantly silenced the soldier's muffled choking.

Sabrina was less than subtle with her attack. As soon as the soldier that was trotting up to her tree came into range, she popped out like a blur and blasted the human's chest with her shotgun. All of the lasers melted through his protective vest like a hot knife through butter, and without another sound the soldier fell onto his back.

Austin was the next one to lash out with an attack. In a matter of seconds, he had unsheathed his homemade beam sword and kicked himself off of the tree to face the human soldier, then before the human could even process his next move his head was severed from his body. Luckily the intense heat stemming from the pure energy beam cauterized the wound instantly, so Austin didn't have to worry about making a bloody mess.

As Mark dealt with his soldier, Derrick uncharacteristically fumbled with his weapon and accidently dropped it, but when he reached to pick it up he suddenly felt a heavy and harsh boot kick him right in the ribcage. He rolled over onto his back and gasped to try and regain his breath, then suddenly found himself staring down the barrel of a small handgun held by a human soldier. Right as his opportunity came to fire, Sabrina came up behind him and jabbed her high energy beam directly through the back of the soldier, straight through his heart. After she had retracted her blade and let the human fall over sideways, she smirked at the sandy vulpine and clicked her tongue on the roof of her mouth several times in a condescending matter.

"Seems I always have to save your tail," she taunted, outstretching her paw. Derrick grinned and allowed the taller feline to pick him up off the ground.

"You're just good at it," he said in his own smooth voice, prompting the feline's tail to start flicking when he looked away. The team regrouped by the wolf-dog, who had just finished ridding his blade of the red liquid.

"That was way too close," Mark announced. Kyle nodded in agreement, then poked his nose towards where he assumed was the coast and spoke up.

"Alright, soon as we get to the coastline, we'll probably have a signal. That's our best bet to call for help." He hadn't even finished the second part of his statement and he was already spinning around and working his way towards the coast. Alex let a quick burst of air through his nose and smirked at the larger vulpine.

"You would think he missed an evolutionary step with the way he relies on his instincts so much," he whispered, but to his surprise the hybrid had heard his remark and replied almost instantly.

"I'd rather make a complete fool of myself than not be effective in combat."

"Which he does make a fool of himself more often than not," Alex added in a much quieter tone, and luckily the wolf-dog didn't hear him. Sabrina couldn't help but chuckle at the smart-ass comments the white vulpine was making, but her giggling faded once she saw the sandy vulpine doubled over with his muzzle contorted slightly as they were continuing towards the coastline.

"You okay?" she asked concernedly. Derrick nodded with an agonized expression, then managed to force a smile once he picked his muzzle back up.

"I'm alright… just banged up," he answered. Sabrina inched a bit closer and playfully nudged his arm.

"Losing your touch, eh buddy?" she said in a somewhat taunting tone. "You were a hell of a lot less clumsy then you were just now back when I was supposed to go after you. You were more… professional, I guess."

"That's because I didn't feel any danger when you were hired to kill me," the vulpine said softly. "I knew I was in danger here, and I guess… I just choked… That's never happened to me before."

"Wait… How'd you know I wasn't gonna go through with your bounty?" the cheetah asked. Derrick exhaled to remove some of his pain, then gave a sweet smile to the feline.

"Because you care for me too much," he answered as if he had been rehearsing it. Sabrina was caught off guard, and in fact she couldn't come up with a witty remark to try and disprove him as she had always done in the past. She did try and open her mouth to protest, but nothing came out as her muzzle slowly shut. Her eyes were next to follow.

"How… how'd you know?" she asked pitifully, not making eye contact with the vulpine. Derrick chuckled to himself, again catching the cheetah off guard as she was not expecting him to show such emotion before. He had always been the quiet one… at least with everyone else.

"It's a little obvious, Sabby," he grinned, making another unexpected action as he wrapped his arm around her. That little affection gesture instantly melted all of her tensions and apprehensions, then as she turned her muzzle she found herself staring into his dark brown eyes. She gasped a little at the sudden spook, but then realized the tip of his nose was within inches of hers. She fought with herself internally for a few seconds, then closed her eyes as she tried to push her head forward.

That was when the shockwave hit.

All seven of the Cornerians staggered a bit, and with Sabrina's loss of focus she actually lost her footing and fell. The boom resounded somewhat audibly, rustling the leaves on the trees with some getting ripped off of their respective branches and drifting slowly to the ground. Kyle instantly took to his instincts again – strapping his rifle to his back and began to run full speed towards the slight gap in the trees where he could see water. About a quarter of the way down, he abandoned all forms of civility and dashed on all fours to his intended destination, carrying much more speed than he would on just two legs. The three vulpines tried their best to keep up with the Captain as DJ pulled Sabrina off the ground.

They tried their best to arrive as quickly as possible to where the hybrid had finally stood upright in a rocky area devoid of all trees. The breeze that hit them when they cleared the canopy of vegetation tasted strongly of salt water, and it was a very refreshing feeling considering they had been wandering in the forest aimlessly for over twenty minutes. Kyle's white tinged fur waved in the sea breeze as he stared out down the coastline with a blank expression.

The other soldiers turned to face what he was looking at, then it seemed as though their hearts fell into their stomachs as they saw the faint trace of a dark plume of smoke rising up into the clouds. The distinct shape of the cloud put a foul taste in their mouths, and as the cloud steadily raised upwards into the heavy cover of stark white clouds, Kyle turned to face his crew with a terrified expression.

"We're fucked."

* * *

**Great Fox**

Wolf's eyes fluttered open, and to his own surprise he found himself alone on the small bed. Sheila managed to sneak out of his tight grasp he had on her after he had fallen asleep, and as he lifted his head up he saw that the bathroom door was shut, and the faint sound of flowing water was heard beyond the door. He heard the husky faintly humming inside, which was all it took to get Wolf's immediate attention.

Wolf smirked to himself, then silently picked himself off the bed and trotted up to the door. He swiftly tore off his shirt, and as his paws started to slowly pull down his boxers he heard voice outside the door to the living quarter itself.

"That was one hell of a celebration last night," a muffled masculine voice started. Wolf raised an eyebrow at the sudden voices outside his improvised prison, then quickly stepped over to the door and placed his ear against the white iron.

"It was needed, lemme tell ya," another male voice replied with a chuckle. "I'm getting tired of wasting time here."

"You too, eh?"

"I'm not against this, don't get me wrong," the second voice quickly intervened. "I just hate being here. I'd love to do this fighting without me being in it. It's pointless for me to be here because I haven't gotten any missions since the first assault. We're doing fine without more than half of the force that's here."

"I know, we kinda overdid it," he admitted. "The commanders are getting all the action, and hell, even Star Fox is getting more time than we are, and they're not even registered military."

"But they are needed here," the other added. "We'd still be stuck on the first city without them. They have a purpose."

"And not just military purpose," the first voice remarked slyly. Wolf raised an eyebrow and nuzzled closer to the door to hear the voices clearer.

"What?"

"Oh come on! You didn't see or _hear_ Commander McCloud last night?"

The second voice chuckled. "He was drunk out of his skull. I'm amazed he stayed awake with all the drinks he had."

"He didn't stay awake for very much longer after though," the other added smoothly. "He found himself a secondary quarters to stay in."

The first voice grunted in confusion. Wolf heard the paw of the soldier pat down on the other's back as he elaborated quietly.

"He slept with Staff Sergeant Stone last night."

Wolf's eyes widened along with his jaw dropping as the first soldier gasped.

"Are you serious?" the other soldier questioned disbelievingly.

"Well, I saw him smoochin' on Ashley in the break room," he responded. "Those two were absolutely loving each other, and there were times I thought they were gonna break down and do it right there."

Wolf silently hacked repulsively, but still kept his focus on the conversation.

"Not only that," the voice continued. "I think I saw her paw venture down into his flight suit for a split second."

"Was _she_ drunk?" the other asked with a chuckle.

"I'd assume so. Both of them weren't all that subtle with their lust. Hell, I couldn't sleep last night because my quarters was right next to hers."

"And… did they…?"

"That's all I heard," he laughed. "James yiffing and Ash screaming. If I had a credit for every time I heard each of their names called out I'd be able to retire and support my family for generations."

"Damn."

"Yeah, but don't tell anyone about it though," the soldier pleaded. "Cornerian Army code says you can't _get_ _tail_ on duty. Not only will that instantly demote them, but it could get them into legal trouble too. James very well could be arrested for what he did."

Wolf snickered quietly to himself, then continued to listen as the voices passed by his door and continued to get quieter as they continued down the hallway.

"Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see James find another love life after what happened to his wife, but now isn't the time to do it. There's too much at stake for him to be fucking her brains out every night."

Wolf listened as the voices became inaudible to his ears, then trotted over to his bedside and sat on it. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remove the smirk on his face at the information inadvertently revealed to him. His smile enlarged as his mind pictured James getting carried off, and the rest of the Cornerian troops realizing what the actual situation was and apologizing, then leaving the planet for good.

He could dream all he wanted, but making it a reality was damn near impossible.

The bathroom door opened, and as the steam dissipated it revealed the light copper husky dressed in tight black leggings that showcased her toned legs, as well as a very skimpy and similarly colored tank top. She ran her towel through her excess of hair as she inched closer to the lupine.

"I'm amazed I didn't wake you up with me trying to get out of the bed," she giggled. Wolf shrugged his head and smiled back.

"No, what woke me up was the sound of opportunity."

Sheila tilted her head and stared at him questioningly. Wolf stood up, then placed his muzzle against the side of her fluffed up face fur. Sheila couldn't help but let out a low purr when Wolf started rubbing his face onto hers

"You know the code about sleeping with other soldiers, right?" he asked quietly.

"Duh, everyone does," Sheila replied confidently.

"Not James," Wolf added with a sly smirk. Sheila's maw dropped almost instantly.

"What'd he do?"

"I heard from some of the other soldiers saying he apparently slept with Ashley Stone last night."

"Oh my god," the husky gasped, shaking her head faintly. "Dumbass."

"That's what I was thinking," Wolf chuckled.

"Wait, hold on, what's James having sex with Ash have to do with opportunity?" she abruptly asked.

"Getting his ass out of power," the lupine replied. "If we can tell someone of higher ranking about what he did, we can get him arrested for breaking Cornerian Military rules. That'll get him out of the question, and before we know it we'll be back home and out of the humans' war."

"Well, it's not like we can call Pepper up and tell him the situation when we're here," the copper husky explained. "We'll need a way of communication, and the only way of doing that is breaking out, and that's impossible."

"Well, there's gotta be some way to get out," Wolf stated.

"How?"

"Just say please," a metallic voice from the intercom machine by their front door suddenly spoke, scaring Wolf and Sheila out of their fur. Wolf caught his breath after the sudden spook, then trotted up to the machine.

"Who is this?" he asked.

"Someone who owes you an apology," the voice answered, making Wolf grin almost instantly as he recognized the tone of voice.

"Hey Vince," the lupine replied calmly. "What's this about an apology?"

"Wolf, I… I don't know an easy way to say this," the fox started, blatantly obvious he was searching for words. "Other than… I… I'm sorry. I shouldn't've disagreed with you. I was too dense."

"What'd you do Vinny?" Wolf asked in a low voice, smirking all the while.

Vince chuckled sheepishly. "I had the brilliant idea of looking up the humans' flight logs, and it says right here a satellite malfunctioned the day Corneria City burned. I still can't believe you were right this whole time. Wolf, seriously, I'm so sorry."

"Yeah, yeah, enough with the sappiness," Wolf snapped. "You can suck my dick later, but why haven't you told Pepper this information? Shouldn't he know that this was a mistake?"

"Actually, uh… that's a pretty funny story," Vince chuckled hesitantly. "Before I looked up the information, I had my big revealing moment about the truth of this war, and I tried to talk to Pepper about retracting our troops."

"And I see that worked out well?" he asked sarcastically.

"And I ended up blowing up at him and he essentially detained me to my quarters," he continued, trying to withhold his laughter. Wolf himself started laughing and clapped his paws together.

"You're not one to get on someone's bad side, eh buddy?"

"I just hate being proven wrong," Vince stated frankly. Wolf nodded his head, then completely changed the conversation.

"So you're saying you can help us?"

"I can," Vince replied confidently. "I've even got an idea for you two."

"What is it?"

Vince cleared his throat. "Basically… you two aren't the only ones that think this way."

Wolf's eyes shot wide open. "What? Who?"

"The entire crew of the CMD Fichina," Vince responded with pride. "I talked to them before I contacted you two, and all four-hundred something crewmembers on Destroyer eight are totally against fighting. If it wasn't for Pepper's adamant command, they would not be here at all."

Wolf smiled and hummed in approval.

"You're not the only one, Wolf," Vince added smoothly. "You're not the only one with a functioning brain. You've got an entire Destroyer that agrees with your viewpoint, and I want to help you guys get out and get to that Destroyer."

"How?" Wolf asked.

"I've got the entire electrical grid at my disposal," Vince snickered. "They didn't bother to clean out my quarters, and I've still got a few tricks up my sleeve when it comes to messing with their tech. As soon as you two are suited up to leave, let me know."

"Wait, how are you doing this?"

"My job," the vulpine chuckled. "I hacked into the intercom system, killed all comms between Pepper's flagship and the Great Fox, and basically wired myself through to you guys' room."

"How'd you know?"

"Can you stop asking questions and get ready to get out of there, _please_?" Vince retorted in an annoyed tone. Wolf chuckled silently, positively answered the arctic fox's question, and then turned to face the husky who had just finished brushing her hair.

"And you were set about us not being able to get out," Sheila taunted. Wolf ignored her as he trotted up to the dresser and started pulling out clothes. He slipped a pair of thick, dark sweatpants over his legs, a similarly colored sweatshirt through his ears, and as he sat on the bed to pull on his boots the copper husky sat next to him.

"Now's your chance," Sheila remarked. "We can avenge Nate. We can do what he wanted us to do. I just know it."

"I didn't want to before because of our lack of support," Wolf replied. "If Vince is right, which I know he is, we've got an army against them. This could either go really well, or Corneria will experience her first civil war. I just want to get this point across to everyone, and that may make things worse, but it's a lesser evil. We'll all get killed by the humans eventually if we don't get this point across."

Sheila nodded, then trotted over to the intercom machine and pressed the button on the side. "We're ready Vince… What's the plan?"

"It's simple, really," Vince started. "First off, I'll unlock your door so you two can get out. Secondly, once you two get within range, I can prep two Arwings for launch, and I'll even make it easier for you by programming the Destroyer's coordinates right into your navigators. I've already turned off both of your trackers, so nobody will be able to track you guys to Destroyer eight once you get out."

"God damn Vince," Wolf chuckled. "Making our job easier, eh?"

"More or less," the tod chuckled. "So, on my mark. Soon as I unlock the door, get yourselves some transmitters so that we can stay in touch even after you guys bolt off the ship."

Wolf grunted in approval, then stepped over to the husky. He smiled warmly at her as he pressed the tip of his nose against hers, then after a quick kiss on the lips between both of them they heard the bolt on their door unlatch.

"Good luck out there fellas. Stay safe."

Wolf hesitantly poked his eyes out of the doorframe, the after seeing nothing but an empty hallway, he turned back to the husky and nodded. Both of them snuck out of their quarters quietly, then as they silently but swiftly crept down the halls Sheila spoke up, barely breaking a whisper.

"You get the gear. I've got an idea."

"Where are you going?" Wolf called back as the copper husky started backing away.

"Picking up a package," Sheila replied, then before the lupine could protest she was already winding the corner and traversing another deserted hallway. She made as little noise as possible as she trotted up to a door, then knocked on it softly.

"Fox," she whispered. "Fox, open up."

A few painfully long seconds later the door cracked open. She didn't allow for it to open more than an inch wide as she barged into it and immediately shut the door behind her tail. Fox recoiled in shock at his sudden visitor, but also felt relief and happiness wash over him as he realized who it was.

"Sheila!" he yipped, but the husky instantly shushed him. Fox's eyes widened as he clamped his muzzle shut in embarrassment, then continued in a much quieter tone. "You're ok!"

"Of course I am," she smiled, crouching down and embracing the vulpine warmly. Fox buried his muzzle into her extremely voluminous hair and let a whimper escape through his nose. The husky caught the grief in the fox's tone and hugged him tighter.

"What happened?" she asked. Fox pulled his face away, then lowered his ears as he glanced at the floor.

"I… I blew up at him," he replied shakily.

"Who?"

"My… my dad," he answered in the same tone of voice. "I told him how I felt, and… I… I might as well had just straight up told him I hated him. I don't know what got into me."

Sheila clamped her paws over the vulpine's upper arms and gave him a reassuring smile. "It's alright Fox. You did the right thing."

"But I–"

"No, Fox, trust me," the husky assured. "You did the right thing. Your father needed to know how you felt. He won't change unless you tell him what he did wrong. It needs to come from you."

Fox sniffed slightly and picked his emerald eyes back up to the canine. "Sheila, I… I don't know what to do. I'm scared."

"There's no need to be afraid," Sheila grinned, slowly rubbing the kit's back. "Didn't Nate tell you not to be afraid?"

Fox slowly nodded, then pulled the golden cross out of his shirt. Sheila smiled as the light glinted off of the plain design, then used one finger to lift the small charm up.

"Nathan said this gave him courage," Fox explained. "He gave it to me because I was afraid of a storm. He told me to have faith, and good things would happen to those who had faith."

Sheila gently grasped the tod's wrist, then placed the charm in his paw and closed his fingers around it. "It's very beautiful, and I'd say it's working."

"It is?"

"Absolutely," she responded warmly. "It takes a lot of courage to speak against your own father. You know what's right, and you won't let anyone get in your way of that; including your dad. It takes courage to admit that."

Fox hesitated, then slowly nodded his head forward. Sheila grinned and embraced his small frame tighter.

"You trust that the right thing will happen, right?" she asked

"I hope so," Fox answered.

"And you trust me, right?"

Fox lifted his head up and stared at her confusedly. "Of course I do. Why do you ask?"

Sheila patted the vulpine's shoulder as a sly grin creased her muzzle. "I want you to come with me."

"Where?" he asked with eyes wide.

"Away from here," she responded. "We can get you out and keep you safe."

"But that's what Nate said," Fox reminded pitifully.

"I know, but I promise–"

"I've heard too many promises, and none of them have come true yet," Fox interrupted sourly, trying to avoid eye contact.

"Fox, please," Sheila stated, using her free paw to lift the kit's muzzle up. "I've never broken a promise to anyone in my life. This is the right choice. You need to come with me."

Fox grunted in negativity and attempted to look away again, but Sheila was right there to catch his muzzle before it fell again.

"Vince has a plan," she added. "I trust him. _You_ trust him. He knows how we can get out of this."

Fox still refused to agree with her. Sheila sighed and let go of his arm, then backed away slowly as the tod stood there with his muzzle pointed towards the floor.

"I'm trying to help you Fox," she continued. "I know how awful you feel, with Nate being killed and you snapping at your dad, but staying here with him won't make him realize what he did wrong. You need to leave him, just like what Nate did, and maybe he'll understand why. It's our only chance."

Sheila turned around and placed her paw over the door handle, but right as she tried to turn the knob she felt Fox's paw press down on her arm. She turned her eyes to him, then almost immediately her heart melted at the priceless expression that found its home on his maw.

"Fine, I'll go," he replied shakily. Sheila smiled in acknowledgement, then crouched down and turned her tail to the vulpine.

"Hop on," she suggested. "I'll carry you to the hangar. We've already got a way out."

"We?" Fox asked.

"Wolf," she responded, and almost immediately she felt the tod's arms wrap around her neck loosely. She clutched at his legs, paying special attention to the fractured one, then stepped out of his room and started sprinting down the hall.

Sheila wound the corner with the smaller vulpine on her back, then as she approached the gray tail that was wiggling out of a doorway she coughed quietly, instantly grabbing his attention. Wolf lifted his eyes up, then it seemed as they dropped out of his skull once he saw the auburn colored fox on the husky's back.

"Fox," he breathed with a smirk. "Good idea She. Here, put this on."

Sheila managed to grab the spare transmitter and slap it around her left wrist, then almost instantly afterward she managed to peel the vulpine's transmitter off.

"Get a different one for Fox," she commanded. "They'll be able to track his."

Wolf obliged and managed to locate yet another spare transmitter, then after helping Fox adjust it onto his wrist he shut the door and pointed a claw down the hallway. As they sped down quietly, Wolf whispered to the husky almost silently.

"I can carry Fox for you," he suggested. Sheila almost instantly shook her head.

"I got him," she replied confidently. "You always get to carry him. I wanna hold Foxie."

"Whatever you say," the lupine chuckled.

Right as Wolf tried to wind another corner, he instantly faltered and almost fell, then quickly pressed his backside against the wall and held his paw out to keep Sheila from running out. He hesitantly poked his eyes around the corner, and after eyeballing the guard to the hangar, he turned his muzzle to the female.

"I'll take him," he assured confidently, then hopped from the wall and charged at the soldier. The canine standing guard didn't react to the surprise attack fast enough, and before he knew it Wolf had practically crushed the side of his face with a brutal right hook. As his unconscious body fell to the ground with an audible thud, he whistled to grab the husky's attention. She too bolted from her hiding spot and rushed after the lupine who had just dashed into the Great Fox's hangar.

Sheila instantly found the nearest Arwing, gently tossed Fox into the open space behind the seat, then secured herself and prepped the fighter for launch. Wolf insured she was set first, then trotted up to the next Arwing in line, but was startled when a large and muscular paw grabbed onto his wrist right after he had opened the cockpit. He quickly transitioned his gaze to the figure, then almost shit himself in fear at the sight of the person.

Wes.

Wolf would've instantly thrown a punch, but when he finally made out Wes' facial expression, he strangely didn't feel the urge to cave the hybrid's muzzle in. He didn't have a face of sheer hatred and animosity towards the wolf as he did back on the surface at Nate's house, but that of a completely unrecognizable emotion. Something Wolf had never seen on the hybrid's face before.

Wes didn't do any other action after harshly grabbing the lupine's wrist. As Wolf stood there with a face of guilt at sneaking out, combined with an inner desire to snap the wolf-dog's neck, Wes stood tall with an indifferent expression. In fact, Wolf had trouble deciphering his emotions, and better yet his thought process. He just stood there like a statue with a blank expression for what felt like minutes, not moving a single muscle. Neither of them made another movement, for fear that would spark a chain reaction between the two that would ultimately end in broken bones and blood loss.

Wes slowly took a step forward towards the Arwing Wolf had just opened, still not loosening his grip or abandoning his blank stare. He stood by the cockpit, and held out his open paw towards the plexiglass windshield and looked as though he would shut it.

Still not breaking eye contact with the lupine, he suddenly reached backwards and pressed the ignition switch.

Wolf's maw instantly dropped as the hum of the engines and G-diffusers emanated from the machine. Wes dragged the Wolf over towards the fighter by his arm gently, then after taking a long look at the Arwing, he lifted his eyes up to the wolf and smirked.

"Go," he commanded calmly, releasing his paw from the lupine's wrist. "Get out of here."

"Wes?"

Wes sighed silently and curled his lips inward, tucking his tail between his legs. "We made a mistake, and the only one that can fix it is you. Please. Get out of here, and make sure you get your point across that we need to leave this planet as soon as possible."

Wolf couldn't believe his ears. Wasn't Wes the one that had it out for him? Didn't he make his point clear he was going to kill him next time he saw him? It seemed as though he had made a complete one-eighty in character; commanding Wolf to escape and try to potentially end the war. And of all the people that he expected to do such a thing, the one at the very bottom of the list was Wes. Scratch that, James was at the bottom, but Wes was a close second. A _very_ close second.

Wolf let out a smile, then patted the hybrid's shoulder and stepped into the Arwing. Right as he was going to shut the cockpit, Wes placed a paw under the hinge and stared at the lupine.

"Good luck," he said stoically. "You're gonna need it."

Wolf nodded, then after the wolf-dog had shut the cockpit on him, he waited a few extra moments for the instruments to warm up. He glanced over at the husky, then after mouthing the words "follow me" to her, he unlocked his fighter and shot out of the hangar. Wolf instantly located the coordinates to the supposed friendly Destroyer, then after a quick and fancy maneuver, he had set a course for this safe haven.

Wes watched the streaks disappear from his view as they hurtled towards the surface, then after letting out a long breath of air from his nose, he trotted through the hangar doors and back down the hallway. He stepped up to a familiar door and knocked on it with his balled paw.

A few seconds later, an orange vulpine opened the door with his eyes half shut and only wearing his underclothes. It was obvious that he reeked of sweat and hormones, along with a few other smells that disgusted the hybrid, not because of the smells themselves, but because of how the smells came about. James stood there with a confused and somewhat annoyed expression, and behind him in the bed laid Ashley, who was completely covered up by the bedsheets and was sound asleep. Both sets of their clothes were strewn about the floor of the room haphazardly, and another sight that disgusted the hybrid was the sight of a set of skimpy female undergarments that were hastily tucked under the nightstand to avoid it looking conspicuous.

"What's up Wes?" James asked sleepily.

"You broke the code," Wes muttered under his breath with eyes wide. James instantly caught what he was referring to and quickly tried to dissuade him.

"Wes, I–"

"You son of a bitch, you broke the code," Wes announced in a much louder tone, prompting James to hiss at him to try and keep his voice down.

"Wes–"

"You fucked her on duty!" the hybrid snapped. "That's it! You've broken too many damn rules James! You're done!"

As Wes attempted to spin around, James harshly grabbed the hybrid's neck and forced him into the bedroom. He struggled to break free, but right as he did he felt countless jolts of electricity course through his body. He lost control of his muscles as he fell down to the floor, then after James dragged him against the wall after shutting the door he bared his teeth in visible anger.

"The fuck was that for?" he questioned weakly, unable to move a single finger.

"I won't be kicked out for something like this," James snarled. "Ashley is my partner, and I wasn't about to tell her no on something _she_ wanted."

"You betrayed your family," Wes growled back.

"To hell with my family!" James barked, completely irate and inconsolable. "My wife is gone, and my kit hates my guts. I have no family anymore. My kit deserted me just because he can't accept the truth."

"_You_ can't accept it," Wes retorted. "You're too caught up in blind rage to see what the real situation is."

"And when did you let that fucker Wolf and his bitch talk you into this?" James interrogated acidicly.

"Right when you murdered the truth in cold blood yesterday," Wes responded. James took particular offence to that remark, then bent down and slugged the hybrid's muzzle harshly. The smack instantly caused the vixen in the bed to whimper slightly, considering the fact that she had woken up ever since James started yelling.

"I did what we were supposed to do," James stated as blood splattered onto the floor. Wes let a few more crimson drops exit his muzzle as he smirked at the vulpine.

"No, you did exactly the opposite of what you were supposed to do," he responded in a somewhat taunting tone. "You wonder why your kit left you."

"He'll get over it," James quickly interjected, obviously in a state of denial, although he himself couldn't feel it. It was like he was completely blind to the outside.

"No, James, Fox left," he reiterated. "He's gone."

James crouched down and clutched the wolf-dog's bloody muzzle, baring his teeth in the process. "Who?"

"Who do you think?" Wes spat nasally. "Lombardi? Hare? Honestly James, who do you think?"

James dropped the hybrid's muzzle, then after turning away for a few seconds, he lashed out and kicked his skull with his bare foot, resulting in an audible smack. A few of James' feet-claws cut the side of Wes' head wide open, and as more blood rolled out of his unconscious head he stormed out of the bedroom and towards Fox's quarters. After ripping the kit's door open and seeing nothing inside, he cursed loudly and slammed the door shut. One of the guards quickly rushed up to him and started speaking after the door slammed shut.

"Sir, two of our Arwings just launched without auth–"

James lashed out and dropped the soldier with a vicious right paw, and after his body fell to the floor he swiped the soldier's handgun and padded over to his quarters. Another guard saw him and attempted to stop him, but James instantly reacted and shot the soldier right below the neck. The laser shot echoed throughout the otherwise silent hallways, and after that soldier's corpse fell to the floor he kept his course towards his room that Wes was sitting in.

He was someone else. His blood was boiling, and he had absolutely no control of his actions or emotions. The rage coursing through his veins was visible through the burning fire in his emerald green eyes, on top of having the expression of someone who had been driven over the edge. They had escaped with Fox again, and he had finally had enough. It was the last straw. He snapped in half.

James barged into the quarters, and after looking over at the terrified vixen who had wrapped her exposed frame in the bedsheets, he turned his menacing glare to the unconscious hybrid and raised the handgun upwards; taking aim right between his eyes.

The next thing James felt was a surge of electricity stemming from his lower back. He dropped to his knees after releasing the handgun, and seconds later two soldiers effortlessly wrestled the vulpine to the ground. One kept his hold on him while the other pulled out his transmitter and called the bridge.

"Main bridge, ten forty-three, repeat, ten forty-three; we've got an injury in room thirteen."

After waiting a few seconds for a reply, he quickly added to his call in the most stoic voice he could muster.

"Commander McCloud's lost his mind."

* * *

_Seeing red again…  
Seeing red again…_

_This change, he won't contain  
Slip away, to clear your mind  
When asked, who made it show  
The truth, he gives in to most_

_So lay down,  
The threat is real,  
When his sight,  
Goes red again_

_*Chevelle – The Red*_


	22. Just When You Think

**A/N: Another longer than usual update today because why not?  
**

**This one is... I'll let you guys read and react to it before I spoil. One thing I will admit was that proofreading was becoming a chore with this particular chapter so I just said screw it and uploaded it as it was. Please disregard any beginner mistakes because of my laziness. ;)  
Also, this chapter is very different. I want to hear from you guys about it because I've never done something like what I did in this chapter before. It's not bad in any way, shape, or form, but it is different than what you would be used to seeing from me. I'll leave you guys to respond to it.**

**Lastly, I'm gonna ask you guys for a big favor. One of my buddies on FF Demo ODST has a story here called "Star Fox: Deception", and I'm just gonna go out on a limb here and say I absolutely love this story. However, it really hasn't gotten all that much attention, and that story is way too good to not receive any attention. I want you guys to check it out, and maybe even leave a review on it too. Like I said, it's a damn good story, and it doesn't deserve to be neglected as it has recently. Please, go check it out and leave a review too. It'll make his day. :)  
(it is an M rated fic, so discretion advised)  
**

**Alright, I'm done here for now. New chapter; please tell me what you think of it 'cause like I said it is a bit different but in a good way, and I'd love to know if you enjoyed it. Take care fellas!**

* * *

_You don't have to be so loud  
Everyone can hear you in this whole damn crowd  
You don't have to try so hard  
I think they got the message, you were out of your mind  
It's not so good to see you this upset  
But the next generation will forget…_

_…(skip)…_

_They're never gonna let you understand  
Or show you what it is to be a man  
You don't wanna sit down and think or hear  
You don't think anyone is in your ear  
I never wanna see your face  
Accuse – It's no one's fault_

_Is it gone?  
I hope that, that, that it's wrong  
Is it gone?  
I hope that, that, that it's wrong_

_*The Strokes – Slow Animals*_

* * *

**North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada**

Mark grunted loudly as he slammed the stock of his rifle down onto the doorknob of a small, secluded house, causing the lock to instantly become unlatched. His brutality wasn't done, however, because as soon as the knob clattered onto the porch he took his stock again and drove it into the side of the door, snapping the chain lock that kept the door shut. He brought the barrel of his gun upwards and poked the door open, then after a quick scan of the one story house he lowered the rifle.

"All clear," he announced, then not soon after he stepped inside the house everyone followed suit. Kyle made sure everyone was inside their little secluded safe haven, then shut the door and barricaded it with a small bookcase propped against an adjacent wall.

The house Kyle's group had located was a very quaint and cozy abode. It was made entirely of wood; the floors, the walls, the furniture, and pretty much everything else. Two somewhat large wooden framed couches with some rather soft cushions covering them sat neatly around a colorful and ornate rug. Towards the far end of the house was a small kitchen, along with a hallway to separate bedrooms and a bathroom. Everything about the house seemed to blend together perfectly, with the choice of décor and arrangement of the furniture.

Derrick instantly dropped his equipment by the left wall near the door, then grunted as he threw himself on the couch; still holding at his midsection. Sabrina did the same, but instead she slipped alongside the sandy vulpine and sat near his feet. Mark and Alex found the other couch, while Austin and DJ instantly started to scavenge the house to look for something useful. Kyle found a chair that was neatly arranged by what looked to be a bar counter near the kitchen, then pulled it towards the group and exhaled as he relaxed on the wooden construction.

"And now… we wait," Alex mumbled, letting his head fall back onto the cushions.

"For what?" Sabrina instantly questioned. The white vulpine shrugged his shoulders.

"Something," he continued. "Guaranteed the CDF is gonna know the Destroyer went down, so they might look for survivors."

"Why would they?" she replied sourly. "The party that went to look for Destroyer two never came back. They won't waste their time and resources to look for us; knowing we may not be alive."

"Well, we _are_ still breathing," Alex remarked.

"Then why don't you get on the damn transmitters and tell them that?" she snapped.

"Guys, chill," Mark pleaded. "Fighting won't get us a rescue party. We need to find a way to get someone to come looking for us."

"Ya hear that Austin?" Alex suddenly yelled.

"I'm working on it," he replied in a muffled and annoyed tone.

"We don't pay you to go treasure hunting," the white vulpine joked with a smirk.

"And we don't pay you for your attempts at humor," DJ's muffled voice shot back. Derrick started chuckling softly, but cringed when the pain returned because of it. Sabrina caught his pain and attempted to calm him down by rubbing behind his ears.

"You alright Derrick?" Mark asked.

"Damn human soldier hit him," Sabrina answered for the vulpine. "Might have cracked a few ribs. He'll just need to sit tight until we can get him help."

"I'll be fine, you guys," the sandy vulpine announced weakly. "I'm not dying."

"But you still need help," the cheetah interjected. "We'll get you to a medical bay as soon as we can get someone to pick us up."

"I thought we already had this discussion," Alex muttered as he started to rub his muzzle. Sabrina ignored him and continued to try and relax the vulpine.

"I'm alright, Sabby," Derrick pleaded, gently grabbing the feline's wrist. "Really. I'm alright."

"You don't look too _alright_," Sabrina replied with a subtle grin.

"I may not look okay, but believe me, I'm good," he responded, and during the last portion he looked up and stared at the cheetah warmly. Sabrina inched herself closer and found a seat right in front of the vulpine's injured chest.

"You wonder why I never turned you in," she remarked smoothly.

"I already told you why you didn't," Derrick replied in his own smooth voice. Sabrina blushed noticeably and tried to avoid eye contact, which was all the ammunition the white vulpine needed.

"Girls always fall for the tough guys," he remarked slyly, causing the cheetah to bare her teeth slightly.

"You know that from experience?" she retorted, causing both Derrick and Mark to burst into laughter. Alex bit his lip and glared at her with a friendly stare, then shook his head and sighed. He was about to come up with one of his signature comebacks, but was stopped when DJ suddenly jerked the kitchen door open.

"Hey guys, we got something," she announced with a breath of relief, then soon thereafter the rest of the room followed suit and slipped into the kitchen. Sabrina was the last one in the line, but hesitated when she was within range of the door. She turned her head back to Derrick, then slowly dragged her feet towards him as she found her previous spot again.

"You should go listen to them," Derrick suggested. Sabrina shook her head almost instantly.

"I want to listen to you," she replied sweetly.

"I'm not the one with answers," he continued.

"Who says I'm asking questions about the war?"

Derrick picked his eyes back up to her and stared at her expectantly. "Well, I… I…"

"You sure you didn't hit your head?" Sabrina giggled. Derrick couldn't help but not keep a straight face, and eventually he was laughing along with her. After her laughter died down, she stood up and attempted to walk towards the kitchen, but not before sneaking a small kiss on his cheek.

"Feel better soon," she said sweetly, then trotted into the kitchen where the group of five were standing around a small device set on the table. DJ poked at a few of the buttons on the side, but nothing seemed to be working on the human device.

"No, try _that_," Austin suggested, pointing at a button on the top.

"I've tried that _four_ times Austin," DJ explained, continuously eyeballing the bulky device. "I didn't– Hah! Got it!"

DJ pressed a small indentation on the back side, then all of a sudden an antenna shot out from the middle of the box, and not soon after a faint sound of static was heard from the device.

Austin leaned forward, managed to sync his device with the frequency of the radio waves, and then brought the receiver up to his muzzle. "Can anyone hear us?"

A few seconds later, after Austin had repeated his message and much to the group's surprise, someone responded. "This is First Lieutenant Green; we read you loud and clear, over."

Kyle snatched the receiver from the blonde lupine and responded firmly. "This is Captain Reeves. Our cruiser got shot down; my squadron and I are requesting a pickup, over."

"Ten-four," the caller replied. "Setting course now. Just hang in there Captain."

Kyle returned the transmitter to Austin, then rested his elbows on the table as a slight smirk creased his muzzle. He sighed and ran his paw over his ears, but right as he was about to speak the white vulpine spoke up.

"Now what?" Alex asked.

"We wait," DJ instantly replied. "We just need to sit tight and wait for that cruiser to pick us up."

"But what if whatever shot our Destroyer down comes back?"

"We just need to pray that it doesn't," Kyle remarked, then lifted himself up and trotted out into the family room. Sabrina was quick to pursue, and in moments was right at the sandy vulpine's side. Derrick let out a slight smile at the sight of the cheetah, then grunted as he repositioned himself on the couch.

"We found a way out of here," Sabrina said reassuringly, rubbing her paw on his shoulder.

"That's good," he said weakly, still breathing heavy from the human's attack. Sabrina again patted his shoulder to try and calm him down, and for the most part it was working.

"I'll see if I can find something for ya," the cheetah said softly, then picked herself up and trotted towards the recently vacated kitchen.

"Mind if I lend a paw?" DJ asked, taking a few steps towards the kitchen. Sabrina obliged, then the two females slipped into the kitchen to search for something worth their while.

"You alright, Sabby?" DJ asked abruptly, opening a few cupboards above the long countertop when she realized the door was shut.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied. "You?"

"I've been better," the tall hybrid answered frankly, then turned back to the cheetah and smirked slightly. "You sure you're feeling ok?"

"Of course," she affirmed dubiously. "How come?"

"Don't think I don't know what's up with you and Derrick," DJ blurted out quietly with a sly wink. Sabrina blushed up and attempted to look away, which gave the sleek black hybrid more ammunition against her.

"I always knew you liked him," she added.

"And I know who you like, miss tough girl," Sabrina retorted. "Shall I say it aloud?"

"You better not," the hybrid warned.

"I'm gonna," she giggled with a smirk.

"Don't–"

"You like Kyle, don't'cha?"

"Shut up!"

"Ha, I knew it!" Sabrina laughed.

DJ hissed and waved her paws at her. "Keep it down Sabby, I don't want him hearing."

"Why not?" she asked quietly. "You can't _still_ be shy about being in this squadron with him, can you? We've been together in this group for half a year already."

"I know," DJ said, tilting her ears back. "But this is my first group. I joined, and almost instantly I was thrown into this squadron. I haven't really gotten to know anybody really well, except for you."

"You seemed to get along with everyone though," the cheetah added. "You're that tough girl that everyone wants to be around. You just need to loosen up and be a little more… friendly, ya know?"

"Yeah, I get it," the shepherd replied.

"And what better time to get to know everyone than right now, while we're waiting to get picked up."

DJ nodded slightly. "Alright… I'm trusting you here."

Sabrina smiled and placed her paw over her shoulder. "That's your first mistake."

DJ couldn't help but laugh at the she-cheetah's remark, then followed her out of the kitchen into the main room. Much to Sabrina's surprise, Derrick was sitting up with a few small cards arranged in his paws. Austin, Alex, and Mark were sitting around the table as well with those same cards, while Kyle was slouched on the couch, staring at the game with a subtle grin. Sabrina nudged the tall hybrid's shoulder and winked at her, prompting the canine to trot over and hesitantly take the unoccupied seat next to Kyle. Sabrina slipped alongside Derrick and nuzzled closer to him.

"I see you're feeling better," the cheetah remarked slyly. Derrick chuckled and rested his head on her taller shoulder.

"I could be a little better," he responded, clutching at his chest again. "Damn humans hurt."

"Here, I've got an idea to ease the pain," Sabrina said, readjusting herself so that she could face the sandy vulpine. Derrick set his cards face down on the table and turned to face her.

"How?" he asked, but before he could even process what had happened next the cheetah had pushed herself forward and locked her lips with the vulpine's. Derrick' eyes shot wide open in shock, but they eventually started to shut as the sense of surprise shifted to pleasure and elation. The other males in the room let out a chorus of "aww's" as the sudden affection caught their eyes.

"About time you two fessed up," Alex remarked after the cheetah broke the kiss. She stared into the priceless expression the vulpine had on his face, then giggled as she pressed her forehead against his.

"Feel better?" she asked smoothly.

"I do now," he replied breathily, still trying to regain his bearings from the sudden attack of affection. Sabrina embraced him again, and it seemed as though the vulpine's pain from his injury melted away.

"You have something to say DJ?" Sabrina blurted out, making the shepherd hybrid tense up. She glanced at the floor and folded her paws into her lap as the cheetah removed herself from the desert fox.

"No one's gonna make fun of you DJ," she continued. "Better say it now while I've set the mood."

The female canine sighed again, then picked her eyes off the ground and swallowed her nervousness. She turned to Kyle and lowered her ears again, but right as she opened her muzzle she heard the front door burst open with three fully equipped human soldiers sanding their ground right in front of the door with weapons raised and pointed towards them.

"Freeze!" one of them barked harshly. "Down on the fucking ground! NOW!"

* * *

**CMD Fichina – Cornerian Military Destroyer 8 (Airspace of Des Moines, Iowa)**

First Lieutenant Daniel Green sat at his station of the bridge calmly, gazing out of the window into the surprisingly beautiful scenery on the surface. He buried both of his black tinged paws into his excess of white and black face fur, then sighed as he used the paws to slick back his hair.

Daniel, or "Danny" as his friends called him affectionately, was stuck between a rock and a hard place. His superior officer had adamantly commanded him to get his Destroyer wound up and prepare for combat, but to be frankly honest, the black and white collie did not want to be here. He didn't want to be dressed in his flashy dark red Cornerian Army uniform so snug it cut off circulation to certain body parts, or be sitting in a quiet bridge filled with people that shared his same displeasure about being called into work.

Danny sighed again and looked at his notebook, smiling as he saw some notes that had been drawn over by a few sketches. He loved to draw, and it was the only thing that kept him sane in tense situations where he was relegated to sitting back and watching. He'd rather act than _re_act, but in situations where he couldn't, he'd always pick up a pencil.

Right as he put the finishing mark on a sketch of a rather slim and beautiful canine sitting on a beach wearing a skimpy set of swimwear, the bridge door opened with an audible hiss. He quickly closed the notebook, wedged the pencil above his ear, and then gave a smile to the two huskies that had entered the room.

"Ah, the husky pilots," Danny said in a very warm, almost feminine-like voice. "So sorry it took so long to come and grab you g– wait, I thought there was five of you?"

"There is," Christina responded. "They were beaten up pretty bad, so they're getting some medical treatment."

"Oh, I do hope they're ok," the collie said softly, folding his paws near his midsection.

"They'll be fine now," Kassian answered. "Just getting some much needed patching up."

"May I speak to them, perhaps?"

"Sure thing," Christina answered, and as she turned around the collie quickly sped in front of her and trotted down the hall.

Kassian chuckled when Danny wasn't in earshot and leaned over by the light gray husky. "You know the CDF's gone desperate when they pull him out of the barracks."

"Hey, be nice," Christina giggled back. "He's a natural born leader. We need him on our side, even if he's a bit…"

"Feminine?" Kassian asked.

"That's putting it lightly," she remarked, causing the copper husky to start laughing even more. They followed the black and white collie down the winding halls of the Destroyer, and before they knew it they were in the medical bay with the three other soldiers wired to numerous machines. Danny let out a silent gasp as he rushed over to the darker husky.

"Oh dear, what happened, Sharp?" he asked. Sharp opened his eyes at the recognition someone was speaking with him, then subtly rolled his eyes as he recognized the frame and the voice.

"War happened," the husky replied frankly, letting a few doctors work on his severely injured leg. He cringed when one of the doctors unwound his bandage, making the collie whimper in discomfort.

"I'm so sorry that this happened to you," Danny said sweetly, gingerly setting his paw on his bedside.

"It wasn't your fault, buddy," Sharp replied reassuringly. "It was Pepper that forced us to wrongly attack this planet. It's his fault all of us are suffering."

"Wait, _wrongly_?" Danny echoed questioningly.

Sharp let out a faint chuckle and turned his head to Kassian. "You mind showing him the computer, Kass?"

"Yeah, follow me," he replied, disappearing with the collie out of the medical bay. Christina stayed behind, and as she heard the door close behind them she trotted over to the red vulpine that was also being treated by numerous doctors. The thing that put a smile on the female's muzzle was the sight of him awake and alert, staring at her with his deep blue eyes.

She slipped up alongside him, then instead of talking as she usually would, all she could do was smile and let a few giggles surface. Brendan chuckled back weakly, then readjusted his head on the pillow.

"Thanks again Chris," he managed to say after his laughter subsided. "I… I wouldn't be here if you didn't help me."

"Hey, anytime," she replied, clutching Brendan's nearest paw tightly. "You feeling any better?"

"I am now, thanks to you," he replied smoothly. Christina couldn't help but start to feel warm near him, and it was becoming increasingly visible that she had feeling toward him, including to the vulpine in question.

"Christina," he started, getting her attention almost instantly. "Yesterday, when… when I said I loved you… I–"

"It's alright, I knew you weren't thinking straight," she assured.

"No, Chris, I… I _was_ thinking straight," he admitted, gazing into her expression of shock, but mostly predominant joy. "I told you because, honestly, I didn't think I was gonna survive."

"I didn't think you were either, so… I meant what I said too…" she responded, making the vulpine give roughly the same expression back at her. She smiled back warmly, then dropped to her knees so she could get closer to him.

"You… did?" he asked in disbelief.

"I did," the husky answered, surprisingly with no hesitation. "I said it to keep your hopes up, but I really did mean it from my heart. I was heartbroken when I saw you had gotten hurt, and I tried my best to help you because–"

"You care for me," he finished, stealing the words right out of the husky's muzzle. After she had nodded in approval, he grinned and readjusted himself on the hospital bed again. "I know… I do too…"

Christina smiled again, this particular smile instantly melting all of the vulpine's hesitation. "Chris, I…" he started, fidgeting with his bed. "I can't move… Can you…?"

"Will it make you feel better?"

"Yes," he replied with no hesitation, then less than a second later he was shocked to see the gray husky slowly lean forward and press her muzzle into his. The pain of all of his wounds were quickly replaced with absolute sheer joy and elation, finally being able to express his affection with the female husky in such an abrupt, but wholehearted way. Christina backed off of him after a good two minutes of clashing tongues with the vulpine, then gave a pleasured and warm smile back.

"Feel better soon, Brendan," she announced sweetly. Brendan couldn't get his vocal chords to work in time as she was already out the door and walking towards where Kassian had left the human's computer.

She hesitated at the sight of another door very close to where Kassian left his gear. Minutes before, she had left the human child and her strikingly similarly looking companion in that room, and although she was perfectly fine in there, she couldn't help but check on her. She knocked first, then slowly opened the door to the small room.

"Hey Emily, can… I talk to you about something?" she asked.

"What is it?" the little human girl asked right back. Christina was surprised to see that she was tucked into the bed with a large blanket covering her. Bell was lying down near her feet, wrapped into a tight ball and fast asleep. Christina shut the door and sat next to her on the bed, then lowered her muzzle and her ears as she let out a sigh.

"Honey, I… I don't know if your daddy will be coming back."

"Why?" she asked, gripping her fox plushy tightly. The little girl's innocence was really starting to get to Christina, and she had to choke back a bit of her tears so she could speak to her seriously.

"He, uh… He said that he's gonna be at work for a really long time, and he wanted me to take care of you."

"Really?" she asked excitedly. Christina cringed at her enthusiasm and rubbed the human child's shoulder.

"You're awfully excited to be without your daddy for so long."

"He's gone a lot all the time," she answered with a smile. "And you're really cool too! You would do a good job in taking care of me; I just know it."

"I sure hope so," Christina answered, continuing to rub the kid's back until she saw her eyelids shut. She sat there for a few more moments with the child asleep next to her, then let a few tears well in her eyes as she leaned down and gave a quick kiss to her furless cheek.

"I'm so sorry sweetie."

**##########**

"So…" Danny said slowly as Kassian shut the laptop. "It's true."

"It is," the copper husky replied. "And god only knows how we're gonna get out of it."

"There honestly isn't anything we _can_ do," the fluffy canine stated as he started pacing around the room. "Pepper has all of the authority. I don't. I have no say in this matter, unfortunately."

"But you can refuse to fight," Kassian added. "I am. I know of a bunch of others that aren't either. You have your say on this Destroyer, and you can call your shots on whether or not you follow his orders."

"Orders are orders," Danny said softly. "I can't defy orders from my superior officer."

"In this war, there is no superior officer," the husky blurted out.

"I'm sorry Kass, but I told you; I have no authority."

"Don't tell me you don't have authority," Kassian said sternly. "You're a First Lieutenant for god's sake! You've got a whole hell of a lot more authority than most of us, yet you don't have the spine to use it!"

Danny's eyes instantly shot wide open. "I use my authority," he shot back calmly.

"Prove it," Kassian snapped. "Prove that you can. Show me you can stand against Pepper, 'cause I know you can. I know you disagree with his viewpoint, and without his call, you wouldn't be here at all."

Danny couldn't help but nod slowly. "You're right. Sorry I was so… dense. I know, I should not, and do not want to be here, and I'll tell Pepper as soon as I–"

"Lieutenant!" a soldier yipped as he burst through the door. "Sir, we've got two Arwings requesting permission to dock. They're Star Fox's Arwings."

"Star Fox?" he echoed curiously, and without another word he was pursuing the short soldier down the hall towards the main hangar. He gingerly set a paw on the soldier's shoulder as they continued walking towards the hangar in question.

"Can you call main bridge? Let them know those Arwings can dock?"

"Sure thing sir," the soldier responded, and no too long afterward they found themselves staring into the main hangar of the Destroyer. As soon as his eyes rested upon two open locking mechanisms, they immediately started whirring and rotating to prepare for the landing fighters. As the hangar doors slowly opened with a loud hiss and groan, he saw the two fighters previously mentioned by the soldier hurtling towards the ship.

In a matter of seconds, the two fighters had slowed enough to slip into the hangar without crashing and hooked their fighters into the mechanism. Once the machines rearranged the Arwings in the rather small hangar, Danny heard the fighters power down. The one craft's cockpit opened, and Danny gasped as soon as Wolf's face became visible.

"Wolf?" he called out in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Surviving," he stated frankly, then trotted over and helped Fox out of the other fighter. Much like what Sheila did before, the kit wrapped his arms loosely around the lupine's neck as he carried him almost effortlessly.

"Aww, Fox too?" he cooed sweetly. "Good to see ya, little buddy."

Fox smiled back as he tightened his hold on Wolf and laid his muzzle on his shoulder, then let a rush of air through his nose as he looked at the floor.

"What's wrong?"

"It's a long story," Wolf replied. "I'll explain later. You have a room he can stay in for now?"

"Sure, down the hall to the left," the canine replied. The one soldier that followed him spoke up almost instantly.

"I'll take him down there," he suggested. Wolf obliged, helped the soldier accommodate for Fox's weight, and then watched the two disappear into the hallway. Sheila trotted up to the lupine and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek, then turned to face the collie and smiled.

"Good to see ya, Danny," she said, grasping the canine's paw. "I was hoping you'd be on this transport."

"To be honest, I wish I wasn't," he stated frankly.

"I know, all of us don't," the husky replied, then gave a slight glance over to Wolf. "We've got a plan though."

"Oh, don't worry sweetie," Danny butted in, and at the last word Wolf grabbed Sheila's arms to calm her down. "I've got a plan. Here, follow me. I'll give you a rundown on the bridge. You too Kass."

As the group walked out of the hangar and began their long trek through the Destroyer to get to the main bridge, the copper husky placed a paw over Wolf's shoulder and sighed slightly.

"Hey Wolf, listen, I'm–"

"I accept your apology," Wolf interrupted almost instantly, showcasing a slight grin. "I understand how everyone was feeling before the truth came up. And… I'm honestly sorry for attacking you and Garrison the other day. How is he, by the way?"

"He's dead," Kassian answered stoically. "Both he and Mac were killed yesterday in an attempted search and rescue mission when Destroyer two came down."

"Damn," Wolf muttered, then suddenly his eyes shot wide open. "Destroyer two? It got shot down?"

"No, actually, it ran into a nasty storm and messed with the G-diffusers," Kassian explained. "We went to look for survivors, but we could only find two other surviving pilots when we went to investigate."

"Dennis?"

Kassian shook his head in negativity. "Kurt Hawkins and Brendan Evans. We couldn't find Dennis. Sorry bud; I knew you two were close."

"Poor dude," Wolf muttered. "Did any of the other Huskies get killed?"

Again, the copper husky shook his head. "Sharp's hurt pretty bad, but Christina's alright. She's probably with the human kid we found on the surface."

"Human kid?" Wolf echoed.

"We had to take cover in some human house for the night, and we found a little girl in the house. We're presuming that her parents were killed, and Christina's gonna take care of her 'cause she's only six or seven."

"Good girl Chris," Wolf muttered under his breath with a smirk, then turned to the husky again. "You know of anything else happening? I've been in the dark for quite a bit."

"So have I," Kassian chuckled. "I just got here too. We'll have to wait for Danny to explain everything to the both of us."

Wolf nodded, and before he even knew it he found himself walking into the main bridge. He saw the collie and the husky already talking with each other, and being as subtle as possible, he slipped alongside the light copper husky to listen in.

"So, Danny, I think we've got a way to get James out of the question," Sheila started, but the canine politely interjected.

"Actually, you guys don't need to worry about him. I got a call from the Great Fox saying he had a mental breakdown and is currently receiving treatment for it."

Both Sheila and Wolf open mouth gasped. "What happened?" Sheila asked.

Danny shrugged. "They have no idea. Stress related maybe?"

"That, or the fact that we found out he slept with another soldier last night," she added, causing the black collie to gasp just as bad as the other two did.

"You can't be serious," he blurted disbelievingly.

"That's what we heard," she replied.

"Wow," Danny continued, shaking his head slightly. "I never would've thought James would do such a terrible thing. He's always been really faithful and dedicated to his family."

"Don't talk to me about him being faithful to his family," Wolf growled bitterly. Danny instantly raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh, I'm… sorry… Wolf," the collie said hesitantly. "I didn't know you two weren't close anymore."

"I'm done with him," Wolf added sternly. "If he thinks I'm coming back home after we retract, he's got another thing coming. He caused all of this, and he refuses to let anyone get in his way. It's like he's blind to the outside."

"Well, can you fault him for it?" Danny asked. "I don't blame the poor fella for the way he reacted to this. He's a grieving husband, and wants to find someone to pin the blame on."

"There's no one to pin the blame on this but _him_," the lupine responded. "If it wasn't for him we wouldn't be here, and because of him we aren't gonna get out of here unless we do something."

"And that's where you come in, Danny," Sheila piped in. "Now that we're all here, we want you to take this Destroyer home. Leave the people that want to fight here, and have them find out the hard way that they should've listened to us the first time."

"Oh, Sheila, I can't do that," Danny answered quickly. "I can't leave my post. Pepper's orders."

"To hell with his orders," Wolf snapped. "He wants to fight, and he'll die here. Simple as that. You don't want to fight, and you shouldn't sacrifice your crew because of someone like him."

Danny was about to retort again, but the bridge transmissions lines started to flare up. He politely excused himself, then trotted over and lifted the microphone up to his muzzle as the message repeated itself to him.

"This is First Lieutenant Green, we read you loud and clear, over."

"Who's calling?" Sheila asked. Danny only raised a finger as he continued to listen in, then smiled at his caller finished speaking.

"Ten-four. Setting course now. Just hang in there Captain."

Danny sighed as he stowed the microphone away, then turned to face the others. "Okay, I know I just said I'm not defying orders, but that was Captain Reeves' bomber crew, and apparently Destroyer five went down after their first assault. They requested a pickup, and I can't leave them behind."

"Captain Reeves?" Kassian echoed. "He the one with the–"

"_Vulpine Spirit_, yeah," Sheila finished for him. "Must've found some harsh resistance if they ended up going down. You sure you want to pick them up, Danny?"

"I have to," the collie replied. "I'm not leaving soldiers behind."

"Actually, this is a good idea," Wolf announced. "Not only will we have an entire ship against this viewpoint, substantial evidence backing up the accident with that human's laptop, and an essential hostage with the leader's kit, but now we'll have first-hand experience on why we should leave. Captain Reeves' team doesn't get shot down just like that. Obviously they know something about the humans that we don't, and if we can explain that to Pepper, we'll be one step closer to retracting troops."

"Damn, that is a great idea," Kassian remarked.

"I hate to say it, but I agree," Danny grinned slightly. "I just… I've never felt this bad about doing the right thing before. Is it always this hard for you?"

"You'll get used to it, big guy," Wolf chuckled. "Believe me… …Where'd Reeves get hit?"

"Says here just a bit north of their supposed target," Danny replied, glancing at his screens. "Trackers are on, so we know exactly where they are. You guys can go and get some rest while we take a quick little ride over there, and we'll call you down as soon as we have Reeves' group on board. Okay?"

Wolf shrugged and let out a slight chuckle.

"You're the boss."

* * *

**Location Unknown**

James opened his eyes and found himself lying in a surprisingly warm and comfortable bed. He was lying on his side with the soft sheets completely enveloping his exposed torso, and once he regained his ability to make out his surroundings he found himself staring out of a large window. The window was lined with navy blue curtains, and they were spread apart to show off a dark, rainy skyline, with occasional flashes of lightning and rumbles of thunder in the distance.

However, the skyline looked strikingly familiar to him, but he just couldn't figure out what it was. In fact, the curtains looked familiar too. The bed, the sheets, the atmosphere, the temperature; all were strikingly familiar. He just could not bring himself to put a name onto it.

And what grew his paranoia even more was that he could not remember the day before. Or the day before that. He was completely unaware of his surroundings, his memory, or even the time of day for that matter. All he could do was lie in the bed like he was in some kind of stasis; relegated to staring out of the window into the stormy city.

He tried to move, but the strange feeling of not having your muscles respond suddenly washed over him. He was completely stuck, again, like some kind of stasis. He was conscious and aware of his surroundings, but he just could not move a single muscle. He couldn't even move his mouth to possibly call for help. In fact, his vocal chords seemed to not work either. It was like he was imprisoned in his own furry body. It was the strangest feeling he had ever experienced, or one that he could still remember for that matter.

That strange feeling was quickly replaced by fear and confusion as something fuzzy wrapped around his chest.

"You awake hon?" a female voice asked sweetly and sleepily from behind him. He would have said something or gave the slightest bit of recognition that someone was speaking, but again, nothing would work. It was like he was frozen to the bed as the female arm slowly started to rub his chest. He could feel every hair being rustled by the thin paw, but could not do anything to stop it – implying he wanted it to stop in the first place.

It was starting to drive him up a wall. He couldn't remember his surroundings or his memory, he couldn't move a muscle even if his life depended on it, and now there was a female pressed up against his back, and the worst part was he couldn't even decipher who it was. He was completely unaware of everything, and it drove him nuts.

The female's breath suddenly washed over the back of his neck, and he instantly felt at ease for the first time since waking up. The scent of the female was a very pleasant, almost intoxicating aroma; something the vulpine instantly fell in love with. For some odd reason, he instantly fell in love with her scent, all of the curves on her figure that were tightly pressed against himself, and her beautiful voice that had only uttered three words. It was strangely infatuating to him, and although he didn't know who it was, he still felt calm and secure with her tightly holding on to him.

Yet, he still couldn't turn his head around to see who it was.

Then, it was like his body ran on auto pilot. He suddenly tore the covers off, picked himself out of the bed, then turned and walked towards the door. The weirdest part about it was that he wasn't the one doing it. He had no control. It was like there was a machine inside of him telling him exactly what to do, and although he was awake and alert, he couldn't do anything the machine didn't tell him to do. As much as his inner desired propelled him too, he couldn't turn his eyes just a tenth of a degree to possibly see who the female in the bed was. He wanted to yell, but nothing came out. He wanted to stop, but he just kept inching closer to the door. It was frustrating and, more predominantly, confusing.

He opened the bedroom door, then suddenly found himself gazing into a heavily occupied scientific research lab. It wasn't like a lab, but it was more of a communication room, with countless scientists in pure white lab coats scattered around the dark interior. Screens were lit up in a pale green glow, and the biggest screen towards the front of the room had a distinct linear path mapped out from one point to another.

"So far so good, eh boys?" one of the scientists asked with a chuckle.

"We're entering the system now," another announced.

James watched intently as the screen showcased a red dot, inching closer and closer to its intended destination. He instantly lost that sense of security the female in the bedroom had just given him moments ago. Something wasn't right about this room.

"Corneria is only a few hundred kilometers away," a different scientist said.

James' heartrate spiked.

_The missile._

The vulpine wanted to explode right there. He was in the same room that caused all the hell. It suddenly flowed back to him. His seething rage, his inconsolable anger, and his passion to destroy all of his opposition flooded back. Yet, he still couldn't do anything about it. His body still would not allow him to snap.

He stared helplessly at the screen, watching the dot grow closer to his home world. Everything would end for him once that dot hit the marker, and he couldn't do a single thing about it. He wanted to close his eyes, but they were glued to the screen. His body would not allow him to look away to ease his pain. It was like he was torturing himself, and he still had no clue why.

He wanted to bark out again, but that eerie stasis-like state continued to plague him and prevent him from speaking out. He was inches from the truth, and couldn't move to get to it. As before, he was stopped in his tracks; disallowed to answer his own questions. It pained him to be this close but yet so far.

Suddenly the room started to fall into a state of panic. The scientists' mouths were moving, but for some odd and supernatural reason James couldn't hear a thing. All he could hear was his own heartbeat, and even that started to diminish. His heartbeat continued to slow, but his brain was still firing on all cylinders. He wanted to reach out. He wanted to hear what they were saying. He wanted the truth, but the truth was slowly starting to slip away. It was absolutely agonizing to be this close to answers, yet not being physically able to receive them.

Although he seemed to be a prisoner of his own body, he still could feel his body start to shut down. His heartrate lowered to a crawl, his near bestial desires were starting to evaporate almost entirely, and there wasn't a single thing he could do about it. The dark room was starting to lighten up, and he himself started feeling the weight of stress lift off of his shoulders. He wanted to take in a breath of air, but his body would not allow him to. His beating heart became inaudible to himself, and it seemed as though he fell into weightlessness.

That was when his heart stopped.

His mind didn't.

James was surrounded by white. Pure white. Blinding white. It was excruciatingly bright; bright enough that he couldn't even decipher his surroundings. Just like the bedroom, he was in complete and helpless cluelessness.

And just like the bedroom, he heard one singular feminine voice, but this one was so brilliant and majestic it made the nonexistent ground shake and made the vulpine instantly freeze up.

"James."

That one word broke him from his prison. He was finally able to open his eyes, take in a breath of air, and was finally able to move again. He found himself on his knees, breathing heavily, sweating, but strangely and surprisingly calm. He managed to pick his muzzle up, then gazed upon a figure so bright and vivid that he couldn't help but have his maw unhinge. The figure was beautifully built and incredibly lovely to stare at, and the staring continued for what felt like hours to him, until it finally hit him like a sack of bricks.

He knew who was in the bedroom, calling his name and keeping him company.

He knew who was standing before him.

He shuddered in fear at the recognition of the female figure standing merely inches away from him.

Vixy.

The light around her faded, and although he was still enveloped in a room of white, he could still make out her frame perfectly. Her beautiful sky blue dress, her even cuter rusty red fur coated face and ears, her gorgeous body, and her tender smile; all were crystal clear. Although he finally had full control of his movements, he couldn't bring himself to use that ability out of pure fear and confusion.

Vixy knelt down to his level and brought her eyes within inches of his. "Stand up, James," she commanded calmly, and almost instantly he involuntarily sprang to his feet. Vixy let out a smile that made James' heart melt like ice in a microwave, then took another step forward after she too stood back up.

"Vix," James squeaked pitifully, locked into a gaze with her beautiful deep blue eyes. He was so overcome with emotion that he started to shed a few tears. Vixy placed a finger over his muzzle to stop him, then wiped the tears away from his face with her thumb.

"Why are you crying?" she asked.

"I…" James started, but couldn't bring himself to finish. He was just too overwhelmed with joy to even make his voice work, but plagued by sorrow and shame which prevented him from continuing his eye contact with her. He lowered his muzzle and continued to let the tears flow.

"There's no need to cry, James," Vixy said sweetly, rubbing her paw against James' cheek. The feeling was absolutely divine to him, almost as if she was the softest creature that had ever lived. Although he felt overjoyed he was with her again, he couldn't change the fact that he still was ashamed to be around her. He knew what he had done to her, and the fact that she was taking her sweet time in shaming him kept making his heart split even further.

"Vixy, I'm… I'm sorry," he managed to speak out, choking on tears and sorrow in the process.

"Why are you sorry?" she asked expectantly, but she might as well had just stabbed James with a sharp sword right in the heart. Oh, the torture she was putting him through was practically killing him from the inside. James struggled to swallow his guilt and sorrow and slowly picked his eyes up.

"I betrayed you," he announced, practically chocking on poison as he answered her. He couldn't believe the immense hatred he had towards himself. He just wished she would stop torturing him and just put an end to his emotional suffering. He wanted to end his emotional pain, but he knew Vix wasn't stupid enough to let him go so easily and abruptly. She would take her sweet ass time in making James feel the most regret he has ever felt in his entire life.

Vixy, to James' own surprise, giggled and nuzzled closer to him. "No you didn't," she corrected confidently, giving him a wink as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"…w-what?"

Vixy pressed her nose against his cheek. "You didn't turn on me, but what you did do was that you broke my heart. You broke Fox's too."

She had just made it worse. James let out a quiet sob and lowered his head in overwhelming sadness and shame, but Vixy picked his muzzle back up to face her again. She wasn't done just yet. Not by a long shot.

"I have to ask you… Why did you?" she asked, losing her cheerful smile and donning a concerned expression. Her deep blue eyes seemed to pierce right through James' soul as that question echoed in his mind. He tried to come up with an answer, but it seemed every answer he came up with in his mind seemed to get stuck in his throat and die before it even made it out of his muzzle.

James brought his eyes back up and stared at her, blatantly obvious that he had realized what she was doing to him. She was tapping into that little tiny bit of compassion he had that was buried ever since she had involuntarily left him, and trying to resurface it to make him realize why. She knew why, and she was forcing James to think the same.

"Vixy, I'm…"

"I know you're sorry," Vixy interrupted. "But are you really? Can you really be sorry for all the terrible things you've done?"

Again, James' heart fell. His guilt and regret was at an all-time high, and he was absolutely suffering from it. He couldn't disprove her to ease his heartache. Not even a little bit.

"James, do you realize what you've done?" she asked, prying his head up and holding his cheeks with her paws, not letting him look away from her. James struggled to respond, but instead nodded his head pitifully. He was downright miserable to be reduced into admitting his faults in such a humiliating and degrading way, but in Vixy's mindset, he deserved every second of it.

"And do you realize it was wrong?" she added. Again, James couldn't do anything else but nod. The tears started to return to his face as he was forced to admit his faults that had been blown open by the vixen standing before him. As much as he tried, he could not ease the pain of being proven wrong, and in the manner that he was. The pain he was feeling was worse than when he first realized Vixy was gone from the real world.

"And what are you going to do about it, James?" Vixy questioned. James again was speechless, and was struggling to keep in tears, let alone come up with a logical response. Vixy brought him in closer, then finally leaned forward and locked her lips with his.

It was like a bomb went off inside of him.

It tore him wide open.

The warmth, compassion, and overall love expressed towards him instantly snapped him out of his real-world angered state. The warmth of the kiss melted the tensions between him and the humans, the compassion eased his shame and guilt towards his loved ones that he had inadvertently deserted and broken his relationship with, and the love that was stemming through Vixy's body made James feel something that he hadn't felt in the longest time, and something he had needed since day one of the war.

An ability to think clearly.

The sudden ability to perceive without being hindered by outside interferences made James almost scream in realization of what he had done. All the terrible things he had done. All of the lies and deceit he had produced just to make up an excuse of getting revenge for his wife. They were all uncalled for. Every single one of them.

He caused the war. He caused all the death and destruction of his family and friends because of his inner desire to get back at the humans. He finally came to his senses about the lack of justification for his actions. It was senseless and uncalled for, just like everyone else had tried to convey to him, and he pushed it away because he could not accept the honest truth. It was an accident, but the sheer fact that he wanted to get revenge for Vixy made him not understand that key element.

He needed to pin the blame on someone, but in reality there was no one to pin it on. There was no one at fault.

It took Vixy herself to make James' instincts and rationality return.

It took the first victim of the war to make him realize there was no need for one.

When Vixy backed away, all James could see was a warm and proud expression plastered onto her muzzle. Her job had been completed, and he knew it.

"I will still love you, James," Vixy admitted sweetly, rubbing the back of her paw on his cheek. "No matter what you do, I'll still love you. But the fact that you did something so terrible and so evil as to kill innocent people just to ease your emotional pain… it broke my heart… it broke Fox's heart... …Do you want to fix that?"

"Of course," James replied instantly, but still shakily because of his tears.

Vixy lifted his head up again and stared into his eyes, bringing the tip of her nose inches away from his. "Promise me you'll fix this," she pleaded with her signature smile; the one James instantly fell in love with when he first met her. "I know you _can_, but _will_ you?"

James finally let out a grin and nodded. "I will."

Vixy smiled and leaned in, pressing her lips against his once more. James closed his eyes and kept a hold of her head, tightly locking himself into a passionate kiss with the vixen. All of his tensions were long gone, and the feeling of determination and the inner desire to repair the damage done overtook him. But right now, he was locked into a deep and loving embrace with his wife, and did not want the moment to end. It was the first time in a long time that he felt genuinely loved, and he relished in the moment for as long as he could. As he backed away and opened his eyes back up, Vixy was gone. In fact, he opened his eyes to a completely different scene.

James found himself lying in a small medical room aboard the Great Fox. All of the lights were on, completely bathing his frame and the rest of the room in excruciatingly bright white light. His arms and ankles were strapped to the bed he was lying on by thin wire straps, and there were various IVs sticking out of his arms. He was completely bound to the bed, and there was no way of him getting out, even if he tried.

He couldn't try and escape at this point. He was absolutely stunned and dumbfounded at what had just transpired while he was out cold. He had an apparition; there was no doubt about it. He saw Vixy alive and breathing for the first time since she died, and instead of condemning the humans for killing her, she sympathized with them and made him feel the same. It was the right way of thought, yet he was too dense to realize it; and he knew it. He was wrong this whole time. The _entire_ time.

He needed to get to Wolf. He had Fox, and the only way he was going to get him back was if he confessed to his wrongdoings. It wasn't because he wanted his kit back, since he knew he was safe in Wolf's care, but because it was what Vixy wanted from him. She wanted him to fix everything, and the first stop on his long way to reconstruction was apologizing to his family. Wolf was family, and like Vixy said, he pushed him away and did terrible things to his family. He let his impulsive reactions ruin his relationships with his family, and he needed to fix it as soon as he could get out of the damn hospital bed.

"How is he, doc?" Riley's faint voice resounded from beyond the main door. His voice got progressively louder towards the end, so James quickly shut his eyes to listen in without making a scene of his awareness.

"I'm not sure," the feminine voice of the doctor replied frankly, stepping into the med room. "He was perfectly fine when I examined him after the mission yesterday. I've never seen such a sharp swing in mental state before. He just… snapped."

"So he's not sick?"

"No, he just… lost his mind," she corrected. "Probably stress related. He just snapped so suddenly, it's still baffling to me."

"Do you know if he's got anything wrong with him? PTSD maybe?"

"It might be possible, but the only way for us to know for sure is if we transport him to Pepper's medical bay. His ship is more adequately equipped, and we were going to take him over there to run some tests… …Would you mind helping me taking him to the transport?"

"Of course," Riley answered, then not soon thereafter he felt the bonds on his wrists and ankles loosen. As soon as he felt the IVs leave his arms, he suddenly shot up and bolted from the med room. The doctor screamed in shock and terror while Riley instantly chased after him.

"James!" he squawked.

James slid to a stop in the middle of the hallway, and before the avian could slam into him he dropped to his knees and started breathing heavily into the floor. Instead of feeling the bird crash into him, he felt his wing start to rub his exposed back as he lowered his voice.

"James, are you alright?" Riley said in the most reassuring voice he could muster.

James caught his breath, then cranked his head around to Riley and stared at him shamefully.

"Riley… I…"

He let a long breath of air through his mouth and lowered his head, tilting his ears back behind his head.

"I fucked up."

* * *

_I'm in love with an angel who's afraid of the light  
Her halo is broken but there's fight in her eyes_

_Walls are built to keep us safe_  
_Until they're crashing down_  
_Words apart we were the same_  
_Until you hit the ground_

_Maybe I'm crazy, maybe I'm weak  
Maybe I'm blinded by what I see  
You wanted a soldier, but it wasn't me  
'Cause I could never set you free  
So fly on your own  
It's time I let you go  
Go_

_*Theory of a Deadman – Angel*_ **(If there is one song I'd recommend looking up, it's this one. My favorite song as of right now. 10/10)**_  
_


	23. Everything is Going Well

**A/N: Sorry about the delay with this one. Got stuck in writing towards the end of this chapter, and hopefully it doesn't seem _too_ forced. **

**So, good news for you guys, I really don't have anything to rant about this time, so I'm gonna let you guys off now. As usual, tell me what you guys think of this chapter, and I'll see you next update. Take care fellas!**

* * *

_For every piece to fall in place  
Forever gone without a trace  
Your horizon takes its shape  
No turning back, don't turn that page_

_Come now, I'm leaving here tonight  
Come now, let's leave it all behind  
Is that the price you pay?  
Running through hell, heaven can wait_

_Long road to ruin there in your eyes  
Under the cold streetlights  
No tomorrow, no dead end in sight_

_* Foo Fighters – Long Road to Ruin *_

* * *

**North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada**

"You heard me!" the soldier shouted again. "On your fucking knees!"

Kyle secretly winked to the others, then dropped to the ground just as the human soldier instructed. The rest of the team followed suit, placing their paws over their heads as well.

The wolf-dog was approached first by one of the soldiers. Even though Kyle was facing away from the soldier, he could still make out a faint reflection on the window of the soldier's frame slowly advancing towards him, still with his weapon raised at him. He was heavily equipped with a full vest and helmet, along with a very dangerous looking automatic rifle with what looked to be a handle on the top where the sights were located. Kyle glanced over at Austin, gestured to the reflection with his eyes, and then waited patiently.

The soldier took step after hesitant step towards the tall, but rather slim humanized canine, continuing to point the barrel of his M16 towards his head. "That's it," the soldier sneered quietly. "Good dog… just stay there, and I promise nobody will get hurt."

"I don't," Kyle muttered inaudibly, knowing the human couldn't understand him. The soldier kept inching closer, then finally was close enough that his boots were within inches of the canine's tail. Snickering, he gently kicked the bushy appendage aside so that he could practically stand on top of his captive.

Kyle took his opportunity and attempted to mess with him. After his tail had gotten kicked away, he flicked it back and patted the human's leg with it in a somewhat playful manner. The soldier didn't take any offence to it, per say, but he made sure it was out of the way by kicking it again just a little harder than before. All in the same motion, the canine batted the human's leg one again, a bit harder just like he had done. Kyle couldn't keep a straight face as the human growled at him.

"Oh, playful little shithead, aren't ya?" the soldier smirked, prodding the back of the canine's head with the barrel of his rifle. Even though Kyle had heard the English language before on his translator, he couldn't help but smirk at the blatantly obvious accent this human had. He seemed to be more vocal about his vowel inflection, especially on the 'a' and 'o' sounds, and it was quite humorous even in the situation he was in.

"Hey serge," another soldier piped up in the same accented inflection, nudging DJ's raised elbow with his own rifle. DJ growled and curled her eyebrows down, prompting that soldier to chuckle. "Check out this feisty little bitch, eh?"

"Ah, so they let the chicks play along too, eh?" the sergeant next to Kyle snickered. "Be gentle with her," he added and winked at the shepherd hybrid. Kyle growled faintly in the back of his throat and batted the human's leg once again, much harder than the previous attempts. The soldier glared at him for a brief moment, then let a sly smirk crease his pale lips as he transitioned his glance to the shepherd.

"Oh, so he's yours, eh?" he asked tauntingly. DJ tried to speak up, but Austin quickly butted in and gently set a paw on her knee, then once she glanced over at him he shook his head subtly. DJ nodded in disappointment as the soldier chuckled once again.

"You've got quite a nice mate over there," he sneered, kicking at Kyle's tail once more. "Stay in line and do as I say, and I promise I won't do anything to her… yet…"

Kyle kept his anger at a minimum, then after inconspicuously winking at DJ, he smacked the back of the human soldier's knee with his tail again, and it was hard enough to make the soldier grunt and falter almost unnoticeably. He growled again and glared menacingly at the brown and beige husky hybrid.

"So that's how it's gonna be, eh?" the sergeant snapped, harshly poking his head with the muzzle of his rifle. "I don't have a problem with it. I'll have no trouble tying you up and having you watch helplessly as I fuck your little bitch's brains out."

DJ whimpered and lowered her ears, which gave the soldier all the ammunition he needed to continue his verbal assault.

"You fucking dogs deserve every minute of this hell we're about to put you through," he growled. "You started this war, and we're finishing it; starting with you and your bitch over there."

Kyle's rage almost surfaced, and the only way he could channel it was to continue harmlessly patting the human's leg with his tail. His last swat at him sent the soldier over the edge.

"Fuckin' cut it out!" he commanded, kicking the appendage much harsher this time. Kyle fought through the pain and lashed out while the human's leg was still somewhat suspended in the air. He grabbed his ankle and took it out from underneath him, then after he fell to the ground he snatched the weapon from his hands and threw it with the force of a baseball swing at the soldier perched in the doorway. The expert throw hit him right in his unprotected neck, causing him to sputter and fall to his knees.

Austin took advantage of the commotion and clamped his paw down on the third soldier's forearm. He managed to fight him off of his rifle, and as he held him back Mark sprang up and decked the human with a heavy right paw. He was pretty sure he heard the human's jaw break before his unconscious body impacted the ground.

Kyle fought with the human hand to hand for a little bit, considering the sergeant managed to pry the hybrid off and commenced a fist-fight with him. The canine dodged a hook from the human, then launched a flurry of jabs at his midsection. Once the soldier doubled over in pain, he lashed out and connected with a huge uppercut that sent him staggering backwards into a window. The glass cracked when his heavily dazed body impacted it, and to put the finishing touch on the intruder, Kyle kicked the human's chest harshly, causing him to go careening out of the recently shattered window.

"Get your shit and RUN!" Kyle barked, swiping his gear from the far wall, and as he hastily strapped it around his frame he bolted from the living room and burst out of the kitchen back door. Panting loudly, he sprinted across the rather small backyard, vaulted over the rather short wooden fence, then snuck around the forest with his team closely pursuing.

"They're following us!" Austin announced, adjusting the intensity of his carbine. He set it at a well-balanced level, which allowed for quick and powerful bursts of laser fire, but required a moderate level of cool down as a result. As he started launching lasers at the advancing troops, the humans' loud gunfire replied. Each member had found a safe haven behind a tree, and as the human bullets impaled the trees, they quickly constructed an improvised plan as was their specialty.

"Derrick, there's a clearing over there," Sabrina announced, unsheathing her pistols and commencing her cover fire. "Pick 'em off."

The sandy vulpine nodded, crouched low and managed to sneak away from the commotion, and then found that nice clearing away from the trees perched on top of a moderately taller hillside. He exhaled in relief, pulled his weapon off of his back and set it in the grass gently, and then flicked a switch on the side, causing the stock of the weapon to extend backwards about six extra inches. He pulled a magnifying scope out of his bag, then after strapping it to the top of his compact marksman's rifle, he laid on his stomach and scoped out the battle.

Lying on his chest caused waves of pain to wash over him because of his presumably cracked ribs, but after a few deep breaths he disregarded the pain. He slowly pitched his rifle towards a human soldier that was preoccupied with inserting another ammunition clip into his rifle, then after he let out most of the air in his lungs…

**_CRACK_**

Derrick's DMR buckled slightly as the laser shot sprang out of the weapon and lodged itself right underneath the human's ear. He didn't even wait for the corpse to fall to the ground as he had already scoped out another target. Another quick squeeze, loud crack, and silent yelp of pain later, he had successfully taken down another soldier.

"Derrick's got covering fire," Alex remarked, readjusting the collapsible grip on his sub-machine gun. "Sabby, go flush them out."

"No, I got 'em," DJ announced, then after slipping behind another tree she examined the gear strapped to her belt. She pulled a red sphere off of it, then after pressing a button on the side, she lobbed it over a fallen log where some human soldiers were camping out. Not even two seconds after the grenade impacted the ground, it detonated in the familiar and iconic pale blue glow, vaporizing a few of their opponents instantly.

Derrick saw the explosion and snickered to himself, then gasped as he saw something rustle behind where Sabrina was hiding. He saw the human soldier pop out of his cover, and without a moment's hesitation the vulpine fired; ripping a hole in the human's chest. He fired another laser just below his neck line just for good measure, then as soon as the corpse fell he packed his rifle away and quickly rushed down the hill towards the cheetah.

"Thanks," she smiled, brushing off some dirt from her jacket. "You've got one hell of a shot with that thing."

Derrick smiled and opened his muzzle to respond, but was silenced as a blood curdling scream emanated from behind the trees, then only a few seconds later a loud explosion was heard from that same location. Sabrina instinctively held her shotgun up to her chest and charged after the source of the shriek. Derrick held back with the other two vulpines and lupine, watching as the cheetah disappeared behind the trees.

Sabrina slid to the ground near where the tall shepherd hybrid was crouched down, then instantly realized she was in a lot of discomfort. The right side of her flight suit looked singed and burnt, and the right jacket sleeve was rolled back so that she could apply pressure to a large gash covering the entirety of her forearm.

"Frag grenades," DJ squeaked, attempting to craw away from the blast site, but instantly fell back down and howled in pain. "Ah, fuck! My arm!"

"I'm gonna get you out of here," the cheetah assured, pumping her shotgun each time she fired towards the humans. Kyle had reestablished his cover behind a tree near the two females to provide cover, so Sabrina took her opportunity and tried to patch the shepherd up to the best of her ability.

"Just hang in there DJ," she said, tightly wrapping some bandaging material around her long and deep wound. It seemed as soon as she would finish a layer of the bandage, it was already soaking through with the shepherd's blood.

"I'll get her out," Kyle suggested as Sabrina finished her patch job. He quickly transitioned from the cover of trees, then flung the shepherd's uninjured arm over his neck as he slowly but carefully snuck through the cover of trees and back to where the numerous colored vulpines were keeping watch over the battle.

"Kyle… I can't… feel my arm," DJ grunted, relying almost entirely on the wolf-dog for support. Kyle used his left arm to support the tall hybrid, and used his free right arm to blind-fire backwards towards the human soldiers with a small handgun.

"You'll be ok DJ," Kyle assured, holstering the weapon as he supported the female with both arms now. "You're alright. We're almost out of here."

Alex pulled a small cylinder from his belt, then pulled the pin on it and hurled it clear over the cheetah. As soon as the object hit the dirt, it puffed out a large white plume of smoke, instantly providing copious amounts of cover. Sabrina recognized his tactic, then instantly slipped her weapon onto her back and ran full speed towards the rest of the group, and with her incredible speed she was there in a matter of seconds.

The group ran for what felt like miles before taking a sharp turn towards a cliff side, then instantly turned to their equipment to scale the rock formation. Mark instinctively launched a hook towards the top, and after it had lodged itself onto a nearby tree branch they immediately took to climbing. Kyle took advantage of his unusual strength and kept a good hold on DJ after he had strapped his vest in and waited for the automated mechanism in the hook to pull him up.

"Thank you," DJ said weakly, loosely holding on to the wolf-dog with both arms, including her severely injured one. Kyle gave her a warm grin back as he shifted the tall shepherd in his grasp.

"Soldiers have to look out for one another," Kyle remarked. "I'd never leave a perfectly capable soldier behind."

"But… my arm," she whimpered, letting the hybrid gently set her boots on the ground before he disengaged his harness. Kyle tossed the end back down to the awaiting soldiers, then trotted up to the tall shepherd and gingerly grabbed her injured arm.

"Looks to me it's just a nasty gash," Kyle assured, gently prodding at the bandaging. "Nothing broken."

"Other than my pride," she muttered, lowering her ears. Kyle fought to contain his laughter, then picked his muzzle up and started to examine her singed flight suit.

"Hey, stuff like that happens," he stated, picking at her blatantly ruined suit. "It wasn't your fault."

"I got too overzealous," DJ admitted. "I should've fell back as soon as I destroyed that little bunker they had."

"But you did a fantastic job at flushing them out," Kyle grinned. "Not to mention you saved us from getting flanked. You may think you screwed up, but you showed how courageous you are. I really like seeing that from my squadron members, especially in a situation like this."

"But I almost got you in trouble," DJ argued, lowering her head. "I mean, back at the house… I… I almost got you killed. And during that battle, you should've just left me there. It wouldn't be worth it to sacrifice yourself to save an incapable soldier."

"Absolutely not," Kyle responded, again examining her arm. "Never in a million years would I let a soldier get left behind, especially someone like you–"

He immediately cut himself off and lowered his ears, trying to seem unfazed by his admittance by focusing his eyes onto her injured arm. DJ smirked almost unnoticeably as she batted his leg with her long tail.

"What was that?" she asked in a subtle taunting tone. Kyle continued to examine her arm, but then sighed and transitioned his grip to her wrist, holding her paw tightly.

"I hate seeing my teammates get hurt," he whispered. "It's bad enough Derrick got hurt, but once you did too I had to draw the line. I made sure I took care of that soldier that was threatening you, because if that actually happened, I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

"You really mean it?" she asked, blinking a few times. Kyle nodded and brought the shepherd in closer.

"Yes, and to prevent that from ever happening again, once we get picked up, I'm… I'm telling whoever's in charge that my team and I are going home."

"Are you sure?" DJ asked. Kyle instantly nodded again.

"I may be a leader, but I'm not gonna force this team, filled with people I love and care for, back down here to get killed. Venom's tours were bad enough, but these humans' desperation tactics are too dangerous."

"Agreed," she blurted out, then inched forward and rubbed the hybrid's shoulder. "It's really nice to see someone that cares so much for his team. I mean, I'm the newest one here, and you and everyone else already feel like family."

Kyle grinned and let a burst of air through his nose. "I'm glad I helped. You're a very strong and talented soldier, and to be frankly honest I'm glad I have someone like you on this team."

DJ couldn't help but have the ends of her muzzle curl upwards. She glanced over and saw the twins climb over the ledge, then turned back to the wolf-dog and, after a bit of hesitation, let her head rest on his shoulder as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Kyle, I… Thank you," she stuttered. "I… I'm just gonna go off on a limb here because I don't know if we're gonna make it out of here, but–"

"You don't have to say anything," Kyle interrupted with a grin, wrapping his arm around her. "I knew what was bothering you as soon as that human started harassing you. And to be honest, DJ, I'm… surprised you feel that way towards me. You're the tough girl of our group; not really showing much emotion, especially something like this."

"I'm sorry Kyle," she whimpered. "I didn't mean to distract you with my stupid mistakes."

"Are you kidding?" he chuckled lightheartedly, making the shepherd raise an eyebrow. "If anything, that really helped me when I was fighting them off. I was getting pissed with that human because of what he was saying to you, and that really helped me in kicking his sorry ass."

DJ giggled at Kyle's attempted accent to mock the soldiers towards the end of his sentence, then shuffled her feet and glanced down. "So, you're… not mad at me?"

"Why would I be?" he smiled, nudging her again. "For the longest time I thought nobody would ever care so much about me, ya know, being a wolf hybrid and all, but… you've shown me that there are people who really care, regardless of what they do or what they look like."

"I never even knew you were a hybrid until the drill sergeant started ridiculing you for it," DJ admitted, brushing some loose hair from her face. "It's the fact that you were just too good at what you did for me not to take a bit of liking towards you."

"Same goes for me; that's why I wouldn't just leave you behind, even if you were hurt… I'm honestly glad I have you on my team Dana, and… I'm just happy I mean so much to you."

"I'm happy you like me too," DJ admitted, finally inching forward and embracing the hybrid tightly. Kyle returned the gesture, then smirked once Alex saw the affection and scoffed with his own smile.

"Fuck me," he grunted sarcastically, shaking his head. "One little mission gone wrong and everybody started admitting who loves who and all that."

"Aww," Mark cooed in a condescending manner, grabbing the vulpine playfully and started shaking his much smaller frame around effortlessly. "Come here you little shit."

The other members of the team who had just scaled the rock formation started laughing as Mark practically crushed the snowy white vulpine in his arms. "Alright, alright, get off me big guy," Alex complained, then once he had control of his arms he smacked at the black vulpine gently.

"Are you alright, DJ?" Sabrina asked as she trotted up to the two hybrids.

"Couldn't be better," she replied happily, retracting her head and pressing the tip of her nose against Kyle's. Utilizing his abnormally quick reaction times, he pushed forward and made direct contact with her lips. DJ surprisingly didn't hesitate and obliged with the wolf-dog's sudden affection gesture, causing the team to yet again burst into a chorus of "aww's".

Alex smirked again and tilted his muzzle towards the blonde wolf, snickering as he kept his eyes transfixed on the newly formed couple.

"Why does that never happen to me?"

* * *

**CMD Fichina – Cornerian Military Destroyer 8 **

Fox was startled when he heard a knock at his door. "Yeah?" he called out as he flung his legs over the edge of the bed and sat up, but cringed when he put a bit more force than he should have on his fractured leg. As he bent down to try and rub the pain away, he heard a familiar voice answer him.

"It's me," Sheila's faint voice resounded from the other side. Fox's eyes widened, along with the sudden smile that had found its home on his muzzle as he recognized the voice.

"Come in," he responded happily, then almost instantly he heard the knob rustle. Sheila poked her head in the doorway first, then at the sight of the vulpine she grinned.

"How you doing, buddy?" the husky asked cheerfully.

"Well, I've been better," he replied frankly, letting his ears fall back. Sheila exhaled silently as she slipped the entirety of her thin frame into the room, but what peaked Fox's curiosity was a long black case she tried to hide behind her back.

Sheila noticed he was staring at the case with a confused expression, so she transitioned her grip so that the case was in front of her. "I found this on the ship, and I thought you might want to see it."

"What is it?" he questioned.

Sheila kicked the door shut with her foot, then trotted over to the kit's bedside and laid the case on the unoccupied section of the bed. She flicked two separate small locks on the one side, and as she slowly flipped the lid open it revealed a black and dark red tinged guitar. Fox gasped and nearly screamed in delight at the sight of the instrument.

"Wolf always told me how good you are with one of these," Sheila started, lifting the instrument out of the case. The guitar looked brand new, and its sleek and polished appearance only added to its already strikingly beautiful craftsmanship. She held it in her paws like she was about to play it, but only stared at the strings absentmindedly.

"I've always wanted to play, but training for the CDF has been taking up all my time," she continued, running her claws on the strings, just getting a smile out of hearing the strings ring out faintly with the lack of pressure she put on them. "Wolf told me you're really good, and I kinda want to hear you play." She outstretched her arms and practically pushed the guitar towards the vulpine. "Can you show me?"

Fox let a quick burst of air out of his nose and gave a slight grin to the light copper husky. "I'm not much of a teacher," he remarked practically, throwing the loose strap over his neck.

"I just want to hear it," Sheila corrected, crossing her legs and staring at the instrument intently. Fox instinctively checked some of the string's tunes, then after adjusting them to his liking he started to run his digits along the strings in a rhythmic tune.

He started off slow, as was his forte, then closed his eyes and let his head nod along with the beat of his song as if he was hearing the drums in his mind. Sheila stared in awe as the vulpine played one string after another, but was puzzled in how he wasn't singing along. She knew the song he was playing had lyrics, but for whatever reason was not singing them.

Fox got to the chorus of the song, and still was reluctant to sing. Sheila loved to hear his voice, especially since he was still a teenager and still hadn't experienced a drop in tone yet. She thought it was cute, hearing his relatively higher pitched voice sing along while playing, but it seemed he was too distraught to showcase it. He played that same set of chords once more, and then after a relatively different slower riff afterwards, that was when Sheila became impressed with the tod's ability.

He got to the short solo of the song, and Sheila couldn't help but gape at Fox's talent. There was a flurry of strings at one point, and the vulpine played each and every one flawlessly, almost as if he was the one that came up with the melody itself. He had since opened his eyes to see where his fingers were, and stared at them as if he was controlling his blurred finger movements with his eyes. He let a grin out of his muzzle as he played the chorus riff again, then closed out his song with another flawless set of notes.

As soon as the guitar's sounds died down, Sheila instant started clapping. She was startled to hear that she wasn't the only one applauding the vulpine, then immediately turned her gaze to the door where Wolf was standing, clapping along with a wide grin.

"You never seem to disappoint, Foxie," Wolf chuckled. Fox grinned and pulled the strap off of his neck, then let the guitar sit comfortably in his lap.

"That was so awesome, Fox!" Sheila squealed softly. "What song was that?"

"Foo Fighters song, right?" Wolf questioned, shutting the door behind him.

"How'd you know?" Fox asked with a smile.

"I kept hearing their music over the radio back on Corneria when we started getting Earth music," Wolf answered, sitting on the other side of the orange fox. "Plus, that's _all_ you ever seem to play."

"I really like their music," Fox responded pragmatically, rubbing his fingers on the strings, making a very quiet, almost unnoticeable sound as a result.

Wolf chuckled and wrapped his arm around the tod. "There a reason you didn't sing along?"

"I was wondering that too," Sheila added. "Is something wrong?"

Fox set the guitar against the nightstand and sniffed slightly. "I'm just… I'm worried about dad."

"I know buddy," Wolf said softly, rubbing his paw on the kit's back in a consolation attempt. "I am too. I'm worried that he's gonna get himself hurt because of what he's been doing. And… Sheila told me you snapped at him. What'd you say?"

Fox whimpered slightly and lowered his head. "I… I told him I hated him," he answered pitifully in a faltering voice. Wolf winked at Sheila, then bent over and wrapped both of his arms around the fox's smaller frame.

"You did the right thing buddy," Wolf said reassuringly.

Fox suddenly jerked himself out of the lupine's grasp and hobbled away from the bedside. "No I didn't!" he argued, tears welling in his eyes. "I told my dad I hated him! I didn't say it to make him feel bad; _I really meant it_!"

"Fox," Wolf called out, but Fox kept on rambling.

"He killed Nathan! He tried to kill you! He's trying to keep me away from all the people I love, and I can't take it anymore! Wolf, I…" he trailed off and let the welled up tears stream down his furry cheeks. "I don't love him anymore. I meant what I said to him."

"Fox, that's not true," Sheila interjected. "You were just upset with him."

"No, I _don't_ love him," Fox repeated in a broken voice, sniffing to try and keep in his emotions. "He's keeping me away from my friends and family, and I… I hate him. He's ruining my life."

"Fox…"

"I just want him to go away," Fox muttered bitterly. "I want him to leave me alone. I… I just want to go home."

Wolf shot up off the bed and hugged the vulpine wholeheartedly as he sobbed into his shoulder. "I want to go home Wolf," he repeated, choking through tears as he buried his muzzle into Wolf's jacket. "I just want you to take me home."

"I'll get you home, Fox," Wolf assured, caressing the back of his head. "I promise."

"I've heard too many promises!" Fox yipped, breaking his hold on Wolf, but as he staggered backwards he buckled because of his fractured leg and fell to the steel floor. He cried out in overwhelming pain and curled his knees into his chest, letting tears drip from his eyes onto the floor.

"Fox…" Wolf said softly, gently picking the injured kit off the ground. He cradled him tightly like a small child for a few moments, then laid him back down on the bed. He used his paw to wipe away a few of the vulpine's tears, then gave him a reassuring grin.

"I won't let anything happen to you," Wolf whispered, rubbing the kit's shoulder to try and calm him down. "I'll do anything and everything in my power to make sure you're ok. You're my brother, Fox, and… I love my little brother."

Fox finally let a wide smile crease his muzzle as he sat up and wrapped his arms around the lupine. "I love you too," he admitted, burying his head into his jacket. For the next couple minutes they sat there, just giving the reassurance to each other that they would be there until the end. Those two were inseparable, and they made sure they stuck together just like a normal brotherly relationship would be like.

To be frank, Fox was somewhat hesitant with Wolf at first when his father brought him in one random day. He had the mentality that wolves were mean and selfish, and rather violent if pushed to that extreme. However, it only took a few days for that assumption to be abandoned. When Wolf wasn't busy training in the CDF, he was at home with Fox, doing the things that his father was never home for anymore. They played sports in the backyard, they watched movies together, and just did everything that Fox loved to do with his father.

Although Fox's first thought was that he hoped the lupine would be gone in a few days, his hope did a complete one-eighty in a matter of those few days to where he never wanted him to leave. Wolf was the brotherly figure he never had at first, and now that he finally had one, he'd give up everything to keep him in his life.

Little did he know he was pushing that extreme.

**##########**

Two painfully long hours of an uneventful sub-orbital hop across the massive continent later, Danny's Destroyer finally found its home in the airspace of Captain Reeves' last known location. The landscape varied from a beautiful autumn forest, tall and steep cliff faces, wide rivers with various lakes and streams, and the remnants of what used to be a bustling city. Danny's heart dropped when he saw the huge craters in the ground and the miniscule remnants of civilization, then turned to a bridge attendant.

"You've got a search party on standby?"

"Of course," the attendant, a short tan feline replied. "Do you want to send them out, sir?"

"Yes, give them the okay," Danny answered, then turned to face the window as the bridge attendant spoke into his earpiece. Less than a minute later, the hangar doors hummed open as a small transport ship exited the larger Destroyer and made its way towards the heavily damaged surface. He crossed his fingers as he looked away from the streaking transport ship, but right as he was going to sit back down another bridge attendant quickly captivated his attention.

"Sir, incoming transmission," he spoke, poking at his large touchscreen. "It's from Destroyer three."

"Ah, put 'em through," Danny commanded, then only a few seconds later a holographic female fennec fox appeared on screen, and Danny instantly smiled at the sight.

"Commander Phoenix," he exclaimed softly, folding his paws below his stomach. "How's the situation on your end, sweetie?"

Samantha Phoenix, a relatively younger commander of the CDF, giggled at Danny's friendliness and twitched her extremely large ears. "We're alright over here, sir. We're just combing over the eastern seaboard and looking for survivors."

"We've already done enough damage over there," Danny responded sadly.

"Oh, no, sir, we're not attacking," Samantha corrected, holding her paws up by her chest. "We've got a staff of over sixty medical professionals on board, and we've been searching the destruction for any survivors and attempting to help them."

Danny's muzzle dropped in shock. "You're helping them?"

Samantha sighed and nodded. "Vince Stazac provided me with overwhelming amounts of information disproving the main viewpoint of this war. Since I can't retract my cruiser, I'm just sending down some rescue squadrons to the surface, and they're providing the injured with medical assistance."

The black collie smiled warmly. "Good job Sam. Vince sent me that intel too. My Destroyer is currently picking up a surviving bomber team from Destroyer five's path. Once we get them extracted, I'll set course to help you out, okay?"

"Thank you lieutenant," she grinned, tilting her hips as she let her left leg bend.

"Oh, hey, how's your little sister doing?" Danny abruptly asked. Samantha giggled and brushed some loose hair out of her eyes.

"Fara? She's alright. Safe at home, probably worried sick about me."

"Don't worry Sam," he assured, cocking his ears. "We'll be back home as soon as we can convince General Pepper to stop the war."

"I sure hope you're right," she admitted, nodding her head slightly. "Good luck lieutenant."

"You too Sam."

After the collie closed out the call, the tan feline controller quickly spoke up, continuously staring at his screen. "Sir, the transport found Reeves' crew. Few injuries to a few of them, but all of them are still alive."

"Thank god," Danny muttered under his breath. He attempted to sit down once more, but was interrupted yet again by the bridge door opening. He turned to face the door, and was startled to see three different people already engaged in what sounded like a very important conversation slowly enter the bridge, along with Fox and Sheila closely pursuing the group as they discussed the impending situation. Wolf and Sharp were both talking with the hybrid Kyle, and as soon as Wolf finished his sentence Kyle chuckled and shook his head.

"Damn… it just sounds so… fictional," Kyle remarked, pawing at his forehead.

"That's what I thought," Sharp added frankly. "Now that you see all of this evidence, it's impossible to continue fighting. I may be a soldier, but I have morals."

"That's what my service revolves around," Kyle stated. "If there's no reason to inflict any damage, then I won't do it."

"Amen," Wolf grunted, patting the hybrid's shoulder. "So, what happened to your bomber?"

Kyle let out a long breath of air and spoke shakily which confused the lupine, mainly because Kyle wasn't one to worry about anything. "There was just… too many of them… It was insane; just the sheer amount of resistance we ran into. The Destroyer took care of them after we crash landed, but then… oh god…"

"Kyle," Sharp called out as the brown husky hybrid faltered slightly, and luckily he was quick enough to catch him. The hybrid regained his breath after a few moments of panting heavily, then glanced at the floor once again.

"They… They launched a nuke at Destroyer five. They launched a fuckin' nuke!"

"My god," Danny whimpered slightly.

"That thing that shot it is still out there," he continued breathily. "It'll go after us next if we can't get out."

"Calm down Captain," Wolf assured, rubbing the wolf-dog's back. "We've got a plan."

"Indeed," Danny piped in. "It's just a matter of finding someone willing to listen, but in this situation it's kinda difficult to do so."

"Yeah, but," Wolf started, wrapping his arms around both huskies. "With the people we have on board and the information we gathered about the humans, we'll have no troubles. We just need to explain our respective stories. Sharp, you and your crew's findings with the laptop and the little girl, and Reeves, you and your crew's experience with just how dangerous the humans are."

"This is great," Danny exclaimed with a smile. "We're just so close to ending this–"

Danny was cut off as an unmistakable voice exploded from the Destroyer's communications dock, and it threw the conspirators into overwhelming anxiety as they realized who the voice was.

"Destroyer eight; stand down now, if you know what's best for you."


	24. And You Think The Problem Is Solved

**A/N: Since this update is rather short this time, I've decided to upload it sooner than intended. Yeah, this update is uncharacteristically short, being the shortest chapter since the _first_ chapter of FC, but you'd be horribly mistaken if you assumed a short update isn't important. This is probably the most important update yet, and I'd love to hear from each and every one of you how this one turned out, guest or not.  
**

**So, that being said, I really don't have much to say, so please, tell me what you think of this one. I know it's short, but I'd LOVE to hear from you on this particular chapter, especially because of what happens in it. Taking this quote from a buddy of mine, "Feedback saves lives!"**

**Take care fellas!**

* * *

_The wolf will cry sheep as they take him away,  
We plot in our sleep but follow orders all day  
The rhythm is for you but the song is for me,  
The meaning might be secret but the melody is free_

_Meat, predators eat meat  
Predators eat meat  
Let all my big dreams sink in  
No one to enjoy it with  
Oblivious… stay oblivious  
Why can you not be more like me?  
Hiding in a nearby tree_

_* The Voidz – Where No Eagles Fly *_

* * *

**General Pepper's Flagship**

"What's this about, Green?" Pepper asked angrily as the collie's holographic body came into view on his machine.

"Sir, there's something not right about this war," Danny explained while continuously scratching the back of his neck.

"The only thing _wrong_ is that you are turning against Corneria," Pepper snapped. "And you of all my officers. It had to be you of all the people that could have started a rebellion."

"He didn't start this," Wolf interjected as he stepped into the view of the holograph machine. Pepper growled softly as he recognized the lupine on the screen, then suddenly started chuckling.

"I should have known," Pepper muttered, shaking his head. "The original traitor himself. How does it feel, O'Donnell? Turning against your family, and forcing your friends to do the same to try and prove this fairy-tale story you keep telling us over and over again?"

"It's not a fake story," Danny interrupted. "It's truth. All of it is truth, and I'm sorry sir, but you've been wrong all of this time."

Pepper grunted and rubbed at his face. "Would I be wrong in saying that millions of innocent civilians being slaughtered for no reason deserves a just punishment for the perpetrators?"

"They don't deserve a punishment," Wolf replied. "They deserve justification, not whatever the hell you call these false accusations just to get revenge on them. They didn't do anything wrong, Pepper; when are you going to get that through your thick skull?"

The bloodhound growled again, then turned to one of the bridge attendants. "Tell Destroyer 1 to get weapons trained on that frigate. They want a battle? I'll sure as hell give them one."

"I wouldn't advise that, Pepper," Wolf taunted. "You don't realize who's on this ship, do you?"

"Yeah, a bunch of traitors and–"

"Fox," the lupine butted in with a smirk. "I'd suggest you keep your trigger-happy soldiers away from this ship, unless you want to cause more problems for James. If you think he's upset now, he'll be livid if you destroy this cruiser with his only kit on it."

Pepper lowered his head and his voice. "Son of a bitch, he's smart," he muttered, then revealed his irate eyes to the hologram. "What's stopping me from sending troops into your vessel and having them execute you and any of your accomplices that have been trying to undermine the integrity of the CDF?"

"You don't want that blood on your hands," Wolf answered matter-of-factly. "You do that, and you start a civil war. Do you really want to deal with a civil war on top of an intergalactic one? Do you want to have even more of your soldiers die in such a brutal and heartless way?"

"Dammit, you are _starting_ this civil war, O'Donnell!"

"This is not my fucking fault you can't accept the truth!"

"ENOUGH!" another voice barked, then soon thereafter the bloodhound noticed a familiar silver dreadnaught warship slip alongside his flagship. After the Great Fox slowed to a hovering stop near the bloodhound's flagship, James' holographic frame came into view alongside Wolf's and Danny's frames. Fox nearly gasped at the sight of his father pop up on the machine on his end, but honestly didn't look too overjoyed in seeing him either.

"James?" Pepper called out in shock.

"The fuck are you doing old man?" Wolf snapped sourly, curling his eyebrows downward. "Shouldn't you be in the mental asylum right now?"

"Wolf, I… I need to talk to you," James announced.

"You've done enough talking," Wolf interrupted.

"Wolf, please, I made a mistake," James announced shakily, but the lupine was back on his verbal assault.

"No shit you made a mistake!" Wolf barked, curling his eyebrows down. "You made too many mistakes! You ruined your sons' lives, and not only that but you slept with another woman! How can you even live with yourself?"

James whimpered slightly, then threw his paws up in the air in defeat as if he was surrendering to arrest. "Wolf, I fucked up, alright? I'll admit it right now, I royally messed up. I screwed myself up to the point where I can't fix myself, or fix anything I screwed up in the process."

"You're god damn right you did!" Wolf butted in angrily.

"I did this," he continued, folding his paws near his midsection. "I caused the hell. I messed up."

"We get it James, you messed up, but what the fuck happened?" Wolf interrupted. "What got into you?"

"Everything," James admitted. "I… I let my emotions talk too much. I was sick, and I needed help, but I pushed everyone away that tried to help. I let my emotions surface too much towards everyone… including _you_. I mean… Damn I beat the shit out of you because _I_ was upset. That's not what a father should do to his son."

"I thought you disowned me," the lupine deadpanned.

"If I could take back what I said to you, I'd do it in a heartbeat," James replied frankly. "Wolf, I… I'm so sorry. I did this to you. I ruined your life, and I got you in trouble with the law. As your father, I was supposed to keep you away from that life. I failed too much."

"James…" Wolf called out under his breath, tilting his ears back. Fox had about the same expression, but still restrained from making an appearance. He still didn't believe his father's change, and why would he with all of the crazy things he did?

"Honestly Wolf, I…" James started, failing to make eye contact out of shame. "I don't even know how to say I'm sorry to you. I tried to kill you for fuck's sake. I can't explain how terrible I acted over this week. I really can't."

"What snapped you out of it?" Wolf asked, surprisingly with no noticeable hostility towards the vulpine. James lowered his head momentarily, then started chuckling faintly.

"I saw her," he spoke breathily, almost as if he had lost his mind – which he essentially did. "I saw Vixy. When I was locked up… I had an apparition of her. I saw her alive for the first time since that terrible day."

James started letting tears flow from his eyes. "She… she helped me. She made me understand the awful things I had done. She understood what I was going through, but she still wanted me to fix everything. All of the things I messed up because of my stupid mistakes."

James curled his lips into his muzzle as he spoke in a heavily broken voice. "Pain makes people do crazy things, and not in their right mind… …Wolf, I sincerely apologize for how I treated you. I don't blame you in the slightest for hating me, but just know that I don't hate you… I love you with my whole heart. If Fox is in there too, tell him I love him just as much. You two are family, and I… I neglected my family. I realized I neglected my family, and… I felt lonely… …I slept with Ashley because I was sick and lonely, but just a few hours ago I finally realized what I was doing to my family… It… It was wrong, and I don't even know where to begin to apologize to you directly."

The vulpine choked back a sob and grinned faintly. "You guys are all I have anymore, and Vixy herself helped me realize that. I need to stop letting the pain speak, and let my heart do all the talking."

Wolf's eyes were wide open when James finally stopped speaking. He shook his head slightly and responded in a tone that reflected his disbelief about James' abrupt turnaround. "James… just when I thought you were gone… you do this. I… I can't forgive you for what you did yet, but… Damn I'm proud of you for admitting that. James– _Dad_… Are you really back?"

James chuckled and smiled truthfully for the first time in a long time. "This is the real me. Not that crazy, inconsolable asshole that wanted to kill everyone just to ease my pain. Like I said Wolf… pain makes people do crazy things, and not in their right mind. I was sick for a long time, and I wasn't in my right mind for the entire duration of this war, up until now."

James cleared his throat and started at the holographic lupine. "I understand your reasoning for not forgiving me, but… You wanted to tell me something a long while ago, but I was too stupid to not pay an ounce of attention. I promise, I won't interfere. Tell me everything you know, and everything that I was too stubborn to listen to."

Wolf dried his eyes with his sleeve as he gave a subtle glance off screen. "Actually, dad, I don't need to say anything. All I need to do is show you the things we've discovered, and Pepper, you may want to listen to this too."

"Please," Danny added. "This'll be really important."

Wolf disappeared off screen for a few seconds, then came back with a small laptop computer perched in his arms. "Sharp's group found this computer when they found a place to stay after their transport was shot down. It has a journal from one of the human satellite's engineers, and it basically says they had no idea what happened. They launched the satellite for research under a "First Contact" program, then right before it was supposed to establish orbit with Corneria it malfunctioned."

James' muzzle dropped. "Damn… Wolf, you were right this whole time?"

"You can't be serious," Pepper blurted out in disbelief. Wolf slightly bared his teeth and shut the laptop harshly.

"You don't believe me?" he barked sourly. "You take a look at the journal! You read how sorry they are that they did this to us! It says right here, _they didn't want a fight_. They didn't intend for that satellite to malfunction. If you still don't believe me, then go talk to the little human girl Sharp found who said her daddy didn't mean for the satellite that was built to research us to turn into a god damn kinetic kill vehicle!"

Pepper and James both gasped at the exposition of the human child. "Sharp found a human kid?" James asked.

The husky in question suddenly popped into the hologram. "That little girl is adorable," he announced with a grin. "And that's coming from someone that just nearly died because of the humans. Her innocence was honestly heartbreaking. Christina took her in because we accidently killed her parents because of your command to bomb these cities, Pepper. She'll never see her parents again, and it's all your fault. Some general you are."

"Alright Sharpie, take five," Wolf pleaded, practically pushing him out of the view of the hologram machine. "He's not wrong though, Pep. You can't even put an estimate on how many innocent people you gave the command for all of your troops to slaughter. You're saying the humans are heartless, but at least they have the heart to admit their faults."

Pepper growled softly. "And how would you explain their counter-attacks? We've already lost two Destroyers, and about a thousand well-trained soldiers with them."

"They were defending themselves," Kyle suddenly butted in. "My team and I were shot down because they were defending themselves. They only attacked our bomber because we just obliterated one of their cities. It's no different than what you first did. You thought they bombed us, and you wanted to pay them back."

"Same with us," Sharp added. "We attacked, and they retaliated. We started the war, and we won't make it out if you continue sending us to the slaughterhouse."

"The humans won't pose any more of a threat than the Venomians, and we wiped the floor with them years ago," Pepper retorted.

"The Venomians don't have nukes," Kyle remarked. "That's what destroyed Destroyer five. They launched nukes, and on their home soil at that. That's not a strategic battle plan, that's _desperation_."

"Reeves' is right," James surprisingly added. "We would never launch nukes. Guaranteed the humans are smart enough to not launch nukes on their home soil, but we're pushing them to that extreme. The humans are resulting to desperation, and… I wish I could've been in my right state of mind to realize this sooner."

"I'm not pinning the blame on anyone," Wolf stated. "But we're in a whole hell of a lot of trouble if we keep this up. The nukes will just keep flying, and pretty soon we're gonna be on the losing end of the war."

"What are you implying?" Pepper asked.

"We need to leave," Wolf answered. "Pack up what we have left and leave, immediately. This war isn't gonna solve anything, and in all honesty it's making this situation worse. You're just putting more blood on your paws, Pepper. I'm sorry if it's coming off as a shock to you, but you're just gonna keep making this situation worse before it gets any better."

"I'm siding with Wolf here, Pepper," James announced. "I'm sorry if my emotions influenced your decision about retaliation at first, but I was horribly mistaken. I influenced your decision before, and I hope I can do the same now. Please."

Pepper lowered his head and let a long breath of air through his nose. "The humans… they… didn't attack? This was an accident? The whole time?"

"The whole time," Wolf echoed. "I know, it's a shock to believe it at first, but it's true. There's too much evidence here to still think it was a deliberate attack."

"The little human girl sealed the deal for me," Sharp remarked. "Honestly Pep, she's adorable. If she said it was an accident, then I believe it one hundred percent. She wouldn't lie, especially to us."

"And that's what Nathan kept saying," Fox suddenly piped up awkwardly. "He wouldn't lie either. He thought of me as a good friend, and I did to him too. He was trying to help us realize that it was an accident, but… dad…"

"I know Fox," James broke in, tilting his ears back. "It was stupid of me to do that. He was your friend, and I killed him because _I_ didn't like him. I'm… Fox I'm so sorry I did that. I'm sorry I'm such a terrible father."

"You're fine, James," Wolf interrupted. "In your state of mind, I was amazed you still cared for Fox that much. I would've thought you would try to exact revenge on the humans, regardless of who was killed or not."

"I don't know what I would do if Fox was killed or taken away from me forever," James admitted. "I was worried sick when Nathan took him, and that was probably the start of my mental deterioration. Again, I was hurt, and I couldn't think straight. All I wanted to do was kill whoever kidnapped him, and… well… we know how that ended. I would've thought Fox would have been happy that I saved him, but… Fox, when you snapped at me… I think that started my road to recovery. You don't know how terrible I felt when you did that."

"Dad, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to–" Fox started but was cut off by the larger vulpine.

"Don't be," James assured with a smile. "If anything, I'm glad you snapped at me. It helped me realize that what I was doing was ruining my relationship with my family. You're my son Fox, and I should have listened to you. Wolf, _you_ are my son, and I wanted nothing to do with you for the longest time."

"So I could tell," Wolf chuckled in an attempt to lighten the mood. James slightly laughed along, then after wiping tears from his eyes he directed his conversation to the bloodhound general.

"And, Pepper, I… I can't tell you how sorry I am. I really can't. I changed you from the general everyone loved and could side with, to someone who almost caused a civil war. I take the blame for everything because all I wanted to do was get revenge for Vixy, but… she showed me there isn't any need for it."

"There isn't," Pepper affirmed. "James, after you, Wolf, and everyone else showed me all of this information, I really can't keep ordering attacks on the humans. I need to call everyone and tell them to stand down."

"The war is over?" Wolf asked impulsively, blatantly obvious that you could hear the enthusiasm in his voice.

"Yes, this war is over," Pepper nodded. "Wolf… Please forgive me for what I put you and your family through. I feel terrible for allowing this to happen to you."

"I understand," Wolf replied. "I'm just glad you came to your senses before anyone else was killed."

"I let too many die though," Pepper added. "I lost two whole Destroyers, each with almost four hundred on board. I… I sent them to get slaughtered."

"Pepper, pain makes you do crazy things," James started, then grinned. "And not in your right mind. I'm not pinning the blame of our lost soldiers on you, but like I said, _I_ caused this. I made you get the revenge mentality, and I can't explain how sorry I am for it."

"I forgive you James," Pepper said with a slight grin. "I understand how you felt. I'm glad you talked me back into my senses. I'll call all of our troops together right now and tell them to–"

"Sir," one of Pepper's flagship's attendants suddenly spoke up in a shaky and uncertain voice. "Something's wrong here."

"What is it?" Pepper asked, glancing over at the screen the controller was staring at.

"It's really strange," he continued, poking at one of his screens. "For whatever reason, there's…" he trailed off as the screen sent him into complete confusion.

"What?" Pepper repeated impatiently. The controller squinted at his screen with his maw slightly ajar as he analyzed his the holographic screen.

"We're reporting an unusually high energy source originating from the surface of the planet not too far away from our current location."


	25. Another Arises

**A/N: Back by popular demand, and put emphasis on demand.  
**

**So, first scene here was actually a request by quite a few others, and I won't point fingers at who. I figured with all of the tense scenes that have complied themselves over these last couple updates, I decided to add this scene just for lols. No plot significance, but it is adorable and heartwarming and I highly suggest you do not skip it. The rest of it kicks off after that scene, so if you are a cruel, heartless person that doesn't care for a bit of heartwarming fluff, you can skip the first third of this chapter.**

**I'll leave it at that, but I'll be back at the end of the chapter. Take care fellas, and I hope you enjoy this update.**

* * *

I_ get so lonely lately; nothing turns me on  
Shoot the noise inside you, downtown, everybody knows  
Just don't want you breaking; sell your shoes for sole  
Shoot the noise behind you, downtown, everybody knows_

_Shoot the noise, man  
Shoot the noise, man  
Shoot the noise, man  
'Cause downtown, everybody knows_

_*Battleme – Shoot the Noise, Man*_

* * *

**CMD Fichina – Cornerian Military Destroyer 8**

"There ya go," a feline doctor smiled, gently pawing at the bandaging covering the recent stitching the black shepherd hybrid had just received on her arm. "Good as new."

"Thanks doc," DJ said happily, sitting up on the small medical bed.

"Just make sure to take good care of it," the doctor reminded, grabbing a small tablet off of the hybrid's table near the bed. "No strenuous physical activity for a while so that you avoid the risk of accidently aggravating the wound again or possibly causing an infection."

"Will do," she replied, standing up off the bed.

"If it's still hurting you in a few hours, come back down here and I'll give you some professional grade painkillers, m'kay?"

"Sure thing," she answered. "Thanks again doc."

"Anytime," he said with a grin, then turned his attention back to the tablet and began poking a few settings.

DJ had since ridded herself of her singed and ruined flight suit, now only wearing a small dark gray tank top that did an amazing job of showing off her toned muscles from the bottom of her ribcage down to her waistline, and a pair of similarly colored cargo pants. She did one last check of her bandage around the entirety of her forearm as she trotted towards the door, but stopped as she felt someone reach out and brush her leg.

"Hey, DJ," Brendan spoke up, startling the tall shepherd momentarily. The red furred vulpine was awake and somewhat mobile which was the reason DJ was caught by surprise. His entire torso for the most part was covered in bandaging underneath a thin forest green t-shirt, and his right leg was completely cloaked in a giant black boot, which confined the tod to a wheelchair. He glanced at the giant wheels of his chair and gave a sheepish chuckle.

"Uh, could you give me a little help with this?" he asked, shaking one of the wheels. DJ giggled and nodded, then slipped behind the vulpine's chair and grabbed the handles.

"You don't mind if we stop to see the others real quick, no?" she asked as she effortlessly pushed the fox out of the medical bay.

"That's actually where I wanted to go," Brendan answered. "Doc said I needed rest, but I've got more important things to take care of."

DJ instantly caught his tone of voice and smirked to herself. "So I've heard."

"And I've heard about you," Brendan cooed with a grin. "I heard that you and Captain Reeves are a couple now… is that true?"

DJ giggled and started faintly wagging her tail as she continued to wheel the crippled vulpine down the hall. "Yeah… It caught me by surprise too."

"Congrats," Brendan said with a smile. "So, you two have any _plans_ for tonight?"

"I will dump you out of this wheelchair," she growled with a smirk, jokingly shaking the wheelchair for good measure.

"What? I'm just curious?"

"I'll give you an answer if you tell me if you and _Christina_ have anything planned," she taunted.

"Soon as I can move on my own without this wheelchair, you'd bet your tail I do."

"You boys are so gross," DJ snickered. Brendan shrugged his shoulders, and before he knew it they were wheeling up to a door with the words "Break Room" stamped to the front. Brendan leaned forward and opened the door, and without a moment's hesitation DJ wheeled him in.

The break room they trotted into was filled with members from both Captain Reeves' bomber crew and the heavily crippled Husky Squadron, as well as a few other familiar faces. At the large table just outside the kitchen area sat four of the pilots, those being Mark, Alex, Austin, and Kassian; all playing a game of cards. On one of the couches towards the main door sat Derrick, shirtless, with a large white bandage covering his sandy brown furred ribcage, and Sabrina who was trying her best to soothe his upper body pain. The other couch sat Christina, along with the little human girl Emily, and the husky was smiling as she braided the young girl's blonde hair. Kurt, who was sprawled out on the third couch in the room, smiled and waved a wing at the duo entering the room.

"Hey fellas," he announced, grimacing as he tried to readjust himself. "Come on in; we're just chillin' out."

DJ wheeled the vulpine alongside the couch Christina was sitting on, and at the recognition of his wheelchair approaching Christina grinned even larger and rubbed at his uninjured leg.

"How's it going, cripple?" Christina taunted sarcastically. Brendan nearly snorted and shook his head.

"You're lucky I'm stuck here," he grumbled with a smirk. Emily turned her head to the sound of the unfamiliar voice, then as soon as she saw the fox's head her eyes shot wide open.

"Wow!" she gapped excitedly. "Big foxy!"

Brendan chuckled and cocked his large ears, making the girl smile even larger. "Do you like foxes?" he asked happily.

"They're my favorite!" she exclaimed ecstatically, studying the vulpine in the wheelchair intently, then frowned once she saw his large boot over his leg. "Oh, did you get an ouchie?"

The vulpine chuckled again and combed his hair back. "This kid's hilarious," he whispered to the husky, than transitioned his focus back to the blonde girl. "Yeah I got hurt a while ago. I'll be okay though."

"Yay!" Emily giggled, shifting in her seat. "What's your name?"

"Brendan."

"When you're all better will you play with me?"

Brendan grinned and winked at the light gray husky, then nodded his head. "Sure thing kid."

"Making new friends, eh Brendan?" Kurt questioned with a smirk.

"What else would I be doing?" he asked right back with his own sly grin.

"I don't know, I'm not your mother," Kurt blurted out, making the pilots gathered at the table burst into laughter. Brendan heard the unmistakable laughter from the white fox at the table and transitioned his glance to him.

"Yo, Xander," he yipped, waving his paw at him. "Someone wants to meet you."

"Who? Emily?" Alex asked, shifting in his seat. "We've already talked a bit."

"Xander's funny," Emily giggled, fingering her recently braided hair. "So is Ax. They're gonna play with us too."

"Better watch out Em," Brendan warned with a smile. "Xander's a big meanie."

"I heard that!" the white vulpine snapped, making the rest of the room erupt into laughter again.

"Nuh-uh," Emily shook her head. "He's really nice. You're the big meanie Brendan."

"Yeah, tell 'em Emily," Christina smirked, giving a wink to Brendan.

It was nice to see that so many of the other pilots were so good with children, especially a human one considering everything they were forced to deal with in regards to the race. Emily seemed to love her company too, especially the vulpines. She giggled lightheartedly when Brendan lowered his ears in an attempt to draw sympathy.

"You started it," Emily said in between outbursts of laughter.

"You're lucky I'm hurt," Brendan said with a smile. "I'd have to tickle you if you keep that up."

Emily glanced down at the red vulpine's clawed digits, then instantly closed her mouth and curled up onto the couch. "I'm sorry foxy," she squeaked.

"It's okay, I was just teasing," Brendan chuckled.

"Told ya he was mean," Alex remarked.

"Can you go two seconds without harassin' someone?" Mark chuckled, elbowing the smaller vulpine playfully.

"No I can't Ax," Alex grunted with a smirk, laying his cards face-down on the table. "No I cannot."

"I'm surprised you put up with him for so long," Kassian remarked, mimicking the vulpine's action with his own cards.

"You'd be amazed, Kass," Mark responded, pulling in the rather large mass of poker chips from the center of the table into his mound of earnings. "We've been best friends for longer than I can even remember."

"I still don't know how," Austin remarked, dealing the cards yet again.

"Hey, be nice to the foxes," Emily whined.

"Do you like Austin too?" Christina asked.

"Yeah. He's a cool wolfy."

Austin bit his tongue with a grin and shook his balled up right paw near his face in success, causing the table's occupants to start snickering and begin exchanging cards. DJ smiled at the group and decided to join in on their game.

"I like all of you guys," Emily blurted out with a smile. "You too," she said as she poked at Christina. "You're my favorite. You're really nice and super cool. You remind me of my mommy."

Christina smiled as the human girl inched closer and snuggled up to her. "Aww, thanks sweetie."

The next couple moments went rather uneventful. The five at the table continued to harass each other as they kept dealing round after round of cards, while everyone else around the three couches just enjoyed each other's company. It was a very soothing moment for all of the people involved considering all of the trouble they went through to get to this point.

Just thinking about their respective incidents and what resulted from them still felt surreal. It only took a few days of high tensioned warfare to make them realize they may not have another day to live. It could end so suddenly and so abruptly. Finally coming to that realization was what most of these pilots and soldiers needed. There was a total of four different instances between the soldiers where they finally confessed their love interest – something they normally wouldn't be comfortable in admitting in ordinary circumstances. They all came to the sudden realization that they may not have another day to live their life, so the least they could do was express it while they still could.

It might end without a moment's notice, so why try and wait another moment?

Maybe that moment could be gone just like that.

For some, that moment is a long ways away, but for others…

That moment could be closely approaching.

* * *

**USS Sheppard**

Admiral Gionta stared out of the window of the massive Navy Destroyer, gazing out at four different alien warships with eyes wide and mouth gapping even wider.

Four different warships. One facing towards the other three, almost as if it was a standoff. The one on its own looked exactly like the one they launched the nuclear warhead at, but instead of having the blue stripes converging at the bridge it had a dark gray color. Other than that, it was exactly the same in terms of size and construction.

On the other side of the presumed standoff was another ship exactly like that one, but instead of the same color scheme as the others it was painted in a sandy brown color with much darker brown stripes converging at the tip. The ship behind that was entirely silver, but was a bit smaller in size, but that didn't take away from its potentially dangerous capabilities.

The one in the very back was the strangest looking ship of them all. It was silver like the one preceding it, but this one had four large protruding wings on the hull, with another wing sticking straight up near the back where three large thrusters were located. On the vertical wing was a red insignia of what looked to be a fox with a large wing sprouting from its back, and below that, painted on the main hull were the words "Star Fox" in forest green letters. Towards the front of the ship was a long protrusion for the main bridge, and underneath that were two absolutely colossal energy cannons.

The Admiral shuddered and turned back to face his crew. "This is our chance. We can take them down right here. This ends today."

"Sir, there's just too many," one controller spoke up. "We won't be able to take all of them."

"We can try," he responded confidently. "This _is_ the most fortified naval battleship on the planet after all. I have confidence that she'll hold her own against these ships."

Gionta looked at the window again, pulling his model car out of his pocket. "We need to be in position. We need to be about fifty meters in to get a clear shot, or at least the clearest shot we can manage."

"What's you plans, sir?" a different officer asked.

"If we can mount a normal projectile in the railgun, and with proper location and circumstances, we can hit those three ships that are sitting all in a row at least. It's our best option since we don't have the resources to nuke them anymore after that first strike."

"Setting course now," another controller stated sternly.

"Shall we warm up the railgun, sir?"

"Not just yet," Gionta answered. "I'm assuming they'll be able to track such a high power source. We need to wait until everything is in optimal conditions before we start diverting our power to the railgun."

Most of the controllers in the room had already commenced battle-time procedures. People on the main deck were loading up their weapon, and in no time flat they had positioned themselves in the water so that they could line up all three of those warships that were hovering comfortably in the air. He stared at the sandy brown warship that was the first in line, then turned to another controller.

"Target the… green glowing portions towards the center of the first cruiser," he commanded hesitantly. "Those things look important and highly reactive."

Within moments, a loud hum stemming from the adjusting railgun became audible to the room. After the humming subsided, another controller spoke up.

"Target acquired."

"Alright," Gionta nodded, then after a quick glance towards the warships, he clicked his car hood and gave a thumbs up to that same controller. "Get generators running full power. Prepare for railgun discharge."

Another humming sound was heard, that coming from the depths of the ship due to the generators increasing power output. Just like the last time the weapon was launched, controllers started speaking out; announcing what their screens displayed.

"Power level 56%"

"Engage power diffusion systems."

"Magnetic field charging."

"Power level 60%"

"Get emergency generators running to cut time, now."

"Target not responding. We've got a clear shot."

"Power level 68%"

Gionta transitioned his gaze to the window once again.

This was it. This was the deciding factor of the war. There were three heavily equipped and most likely heavily manned warships, all sitting in a row, just asking to be attacked. This one assault on those ships could turn the tide drastically in their favor. If they could bring down more than one ship with just one shot, it could redefine the effectiveness of strategy and warfare in general in Earth's favor. They could end this war if this one shot did what it was presumed to do.

One shot could end it all.

He clicked his car hood again, and waited for the energy to keep climbing.

"Power level 95%"

"Adjust electrical output."

"We've still got that clear shot."

"Full power achieved."

"Launch sequence initiated."

This was the second time this weapon was launched against their invaders, but it still put a slight grin on the Admiral's face when the countdown begun. It somehow gave him the sense of even more power, even though he was the officer with the most authority on the battleship.

"Five."

The humming returned once again.

"Four."

He shut the red model car's hood yet again with another audible _click._

"Three."

His sly grin faded when he saw the last warship in line start to pivot.

"Oh fuck." he muttered. "They found us. THEY FOUND US!"

"Two."

His heart dropped when that last dreadnaught in line pointed those two colossal cannons directly towards the USS Sheppard. The tips of those cannons started to glow in a pale yellow glow, which made the Admiral lose all color in his face.

"FUCKING FIRE THE DAMN GUN!" Gionta barked.

"We're not ready yet!"

"One."

The glow of those cannons on the large silver warship became much brighter and more defined, and it was driving the Admiral insane the way he sat helpless like this.

"Fire."

Admiral Gionta let his car click one last time as soon as the cannons on the warship fired, launching twin energy beams directly at his ship. The railgun electrified and launched just in time, because as soon as the projectile left the rails the beams of the Great Fox impacted the USS Sheppard – instantly detonating the boat and essentially vaporizing it with the intense energy launched at it. The Cornerians were too late, however – the projectile launched by the Navy ship was hell bent on destruction.

The pointed metal projectile zooming at Mach 7 hit Destroyer 1's G-diffusers with so much force that it ripped through the ship like it was a piece of tracing paper. Sparks flew from the impact sight, instantly igniting the fuselage in a cataclysmic explosion, shaking the ground even though it was at least half a mile above the surface. There was practically nothing left after the smoke cleared around that cruiser, and with the lack of any functioning systems it sunk towards the surface like a rock in pure water.

Essentially losing no momentum whatsoever, the human projectile rammed into the main hull of Pepper's flagship. Considering the G-diffusers were in a different location towards the rear of the ship, there was no massive explosion, but the fact that his flagship was made of a much softer material made the projectile literally split the ship in half. It hit with enough force to tear the ship into two pieces, reminiscent of snapping a pencil in half. Just like Destroyer 1, that ship lost most, if not all of its systems, and that too dipped towards the surface of the planet.

Instead of impaling the Great Fox's hull like it was originally drawn up by the battleship's crew, the railgun projectile ripped through all three of the dreadnaught's thrusters because of its motion to attack the aforementioned boat. It instantly detonated all of the stabilizing thrusters, causing that ship to malfunction just like the others that had been struck and essentially destroyed in a matter of seconds. The Great Fox spiraled out of control with lack of stabilization, and just like the other ones it had no control until it hit the surface.

For Destroyer 1, that poor ship was entirely gone, and there was no arguments disproving it. It was completely engulfed in flames, and if there was a survivor on the remnants of that ship it would have been considered a miracle. The pointed tip of the warship impaled the ground, causing a huge tremor in the earth as the rest of the obliterated body followed suit. The ship practically imbedded itself into the ground almost fifty feet deep, and the blazing inferno ignited nearby trees and grasslands as well, making a genuinely believable apocalyptic scene in the surrounding radius of the ship's compromised remnants.

Pepper's flagship was next to hit the ground. The front part impacted first, but luckily it didn't hit with very much force. It did dig into the soft earth quite a bit however, but at least it didn't detonate like the rear portion of the flagship did. The fuselages exploded almost instantly after that segment of the cruiser hit the ground, but since there was much less fuel than what was in Destroyer 1, the explosion was much less devastating than that Destroyer. It did cause a bit of forestry fire as well, as well as creating a massive plume of ink black smoke, but it wasn't as extravagant as Destroyer 1's inadvertent pyrotechnics showing.

The spiraling Great Fox took its sweet time in slowly inching closer to the ground. It looked like a helicopter that had lost the entire rear wing and was spiraling out of control with the thrusters on the back blazing with white hot flames. It was apparent that the dreadnaught was attempting to stabilize itself, but right as it looked like it would touch down calmly, one of the thrusters had a secondary detonation, causing it to roll slightly. That little roll was all the Great Fox needed to impale the ground with one of its stabilizing wings, and with the force and speed it was carrying, the wing ripped off and sent the remnants of the ship barreling into the earth. The other wings were sheared off and were sent soaring like oversized helicopter blades, some imbedding themselves into the ground hundreds of feet away as the ship continued to carve out a trench in the soft earth. The compromised warship barreled over tens of trees before finally rolling to a rocky stop only feet away from a giant cliff drop.

There was a distinct path in the earth where the Great Fox rolled over and over _and over_ again. There were also flames lighting a few patches of grass and bushes in the area around the warship and the warship's trench it carved into the surface as well. Destroyer 1 was essentially starting a forest fire with the insane inferno stemming out of the obliterated fuselages. The rear of Pepper's flagship was the start of another fire, but the front of it – luckily – was almost perfectly fine. That was the best looking piece of all the compromised Cornerian engineering that had hit ground involuntarily after being impaled by the human's railgun, not including the other Destroyer that had watched helplessly as those three ships were reduced to falling to the surface.

* * *

**CMD Fichina – Cornerian Military Destroyer 8 **

The entire bridge was deathly silent.

In a matter of minutes, they had gone from tense and emotional negotiations, to finally deciphering the outcome of the war, to watching helplessly with gapping mouths and even wider eyes as all three of those cruisers were completely destroyed right before their eyes. There was no warning; one minute they had finally figured out the outcome of the war, and the next they had been taken advantage of by a surprise human attack.

Danny was staring intently at the wreckage of Destroyer 1. It was completely shrouded in flames, and the ink black smoke pouring out of the wreckage put a sour taste in the collie's mouth. He lowered his head and folded his paws over his midsection as he let all of the air out of his nose.

Wolf open-mouth-gasped when Pepper's flagship split in half. He had never seen such a fortified Cornerian ship get torn apart so violently and so effortlessly before. Although he finally prayed for the first time in his life that the crew of that ship made it out of that brutal impact okay, he still had his doubts. After all, he still firmly believed deep down it was what they deserved. They were adamant about keeping their attack for far too long, and they were far too late when it came to their decision to retract. They were slow on the realization of their faults, and that incompetence and reluctance to accept the truth turned out to be a terrible blow to the warship.

Fox's eyes filled with more and more tears after every roll the Great Fox executed. He counted how many times it had completely rolled over, but after the seventh complete rollover he couldn't count anymore. He watched with an absolutely terrified expression as the wings were sheared off, then after it had come to a complete stop he whimpered and let the buildup of tears flow down his cheeks. The bridge had been severed from the main hull right at the base of the body, and luckily that protrusion was still intact. He just prayed the people in there were intact as well.

Wolf transitioned his gaze to Fox, and after his heart split at the kit's emotions, he spun around and attempted to leave the bridge.

"Wolf, where are you going?" Danny asked.

"I'm going down there," he responded almost instantly.

"Wolf, wait, it's too dangerous!" Danny cried. "There could still be more soldiers down there."

"I need to save him!"

"Nobody could survive something like that!" the collie explained.

"James would," Wolf responded. "He's a tough son of a bitch, and I'm saving him."

"Wolf, please," Danny pleaded, but Wolf instantly cut him off.

"My father is down there!" he snapped. "I _know_ he survived, and I'm getting him out of there."

Without another word, Wolf bolted out of the bridge and dashed towards the hangar. Sheila groaned and knelt down near Fox.

"Stay here Fox," she commanded calmly. "I'm gonna follow him."

She too dashed out into the hallway after Fox nodded in acknowledgement, still with tears streaming from his face. After the husky ran through the winding hallways and finally burst through the doors of the hangar, she just managed to see Wolf's Arwing shoot out of the hangar and instantly dip towards the surface. She groaned again, letting her near three feet of hair interlock itself with her ears and muzzle as she lowered her head, then after brushing it back into place she located another vacated Arwing and prepped it for launch.

Wolf landed only minutes after he had launched, touching down in a small clearing very close to the Great Fox's blazing remnants. He shot out of the cockpit and took step after hesitant step towards the huge blazing fire stemming from the Great Fox's thrusters, all the while dodging small and copious amounts of small grass fires flaring up near the dreadnaught's trench it had dug.

Although the lupine had his doubts and was half expecting not a single lifeform to escape from the wreckage, he was still pleasantly surprised and amazed at the sight of James crawling out of the shattered windshield of the main bridge. His arms and face were cut up, as well as his flight suit, and some of the cuts in his fur were oozing blood, staining his fur and suit. He managed to stagger to his feet, and at the sight of Wolf he bared his teeth slightly, still panting heavily with blood dripping from the tip of his nose.

"Dad!" Wolf shouted over the sound of Sheila's Arwing touching down a few feet behind his. He started to run towards him, and after he was within inches of the injured tod he stopped and held out his arms.

"Dad, thank the gods you're ok," he announced with a smile, then as soon as he tried to embrace the vulpine he felt himself get pushed away by him. He instantly raised an eyebrow at James' angered expression and contracted muzzle.

"Dad?" he called out confusedly, and before he could process his next move James had inched closer and pushed him harshly again.

"I TRUSTED YOU!" he barked irately, clenching his paws and letting his bushy and bloodied tail flick wildly as the lupine staggered backwards. "I decided to believe in your story, and it turns out I NEVER SHOULD HAVE!"

"Dad…" Wolf said hoarsely, letting a bit of water well up in his eyes.

"I'm not your fucking father!" James snarled, again pushing him even farther backwards. "You never were my son! You've always been the fuckin' outcast – the one no one cares about! Why should I care about you when you tried to make up that story to defend those aliens that just tried to kill me?!"

Right when Wolf opened his muzzle to answer, all that came out was a forced breathy grunt as James pushed him with much more force, making him fall backwards onto the ground. James pulled back his arm to continue his attack, but coming to the wolf's rescue was Sheila, hopping in and pushing the angered fox away. As James staggered backwards, he clamped his paw around Sheila's wrist before she could pull back her arms, and in a matter of seconds James had harshly forced the husky to her knees, all the while wrapping his arm around her neck. She struggled to break his hold, then instantly froze when she heard a click resound from right under her ear.

Wolf sat up, then felt his muzzle unhinge as he saw James holding a gun to Sheila's head. His eyes were blazing, and the expression that had found its home on the vulpine's contorted muzzle was that of sheer hatred – an expression Wolf hadn't seen since the day after the satellite, and even at that this particular face had much more visible seething rage than that day.

"James…" Wolf squeaked as he slowly slid to his feet. "Let her go. Please."

"Shut it!" he barked, fighting to keep the taller husky under control. He harshly pulled her up to her feet, but still kept the handgun lodged under her ear.

"Please, leave her out of this," he pleaded shakily. "You're mad at me, not her. Let her go; I'm begging you."

James smiled sadistically and started quietly chuckling maniacally, caressing the trigger of the weapon. "And to think I believed you," he muttered almost inaudibly in a terribly broken voice, shaking his head in the process. "I thought I had a genuine apparition. I believed your story. I thought I finally knew what the real reason why this war started was, but in reality… I didn't… In fact… I knew since day one. I knew the humans had it out for us."

"James, that's not true," Wolf said in a fake calm voice, because in reality his emotions were running haywire. His father was mere inches from blowing her head off, and from the looks of it nothing was going to break his mentality behind it.

"Explain to me why it isn't, Wolf, before you have to start looking for a new mate."

Sheila flushed as the barrel of the weapon dug deeper into her fur. She whimpered and let a few tears well in her eyes as James snickered to himself coldly, almost as if the whole conversion before the humans' attack hadn't even happened.

"They were just defending themselves," Wolf replied slowly, making sure one of his words wouldn't inadvertently set off James' trigger. "They were just as upset that we attacked as we were, and they were just doing what we would do in a situation like this."

"They tried to _kill_ me!" James snarled.

"They tried to kill everyone!" Wolf shot back. "They didn't target you! We waited too long to leave, and now they're going after us to _make_ us leave! We were too late!"

"No, _you're_ too late," James replied stoically, tightening his arm on Sheila's neck. "You're gonna feel what it's like to have your lover taken away by someone who can't and _won't_ apologize for it."

"Please!" Wolf screamed, tears starting to flow from his eyes and streak down his gray furred cheeks.

"What'll it be?" the vulpine questioned acidicly. "We get regrouped with more ships and troops, and continue wiping this planet clean, and you and your girl get a nice little room locked up for turning on your own home world… or you get relegated to cleaning up her blood off the ground, and you _still_ get sent to prison."

"James, please… Don't do this."

"What will it be?" he repeated with pauses and irate inflections, keeping his tight hold on the husky. Sheila by now was crying audibly, tears streaming down her cheeks and onto the vulpine's cut up and bloodied arms, intermixing with his dark crimson blood. She started squeaking as she tightly clamped her paws down on his arms to try and ease the pressure he was unknowingly putting on her airways. Wolf stared at James with a helpless and defeated expression, making the tod's pleasure in torturing the lupine increase.

"I didn't have a choice," James continued. "My wife was taken away from me by those humans, and right when I was going to accept their mistaken wrongdoings, they go and try and kill me too. Vixy tried to change my view, and it worked for a little bit, but as soon as those humans tried to kill me too I knew I couldn't believe anyone! Not even my own wife! I knew what I had to do from the start, and people like you are gonna get in the way of me getting my revenge for the hell they put me through!"

Wolf fell to his knees in confliction, still not able to try and console him. He was inconsolable. Even after his wife spoke to him as he kept saying before, he still would not accept the truth. His pain caused him to do crazy things, and continue doing crazy things. He was going to cause even more pain to himself and everyone else if he kept his actions up. Wolf had one last chance to try and snap him out.

"Dad… I'm… I'm so sorry," Wolf choked shakily, lowering his head to the dirt.

"It's too late for sorry!" James snapped again. "You and your furless ape friends have done too much to me and my family to just come out and say _you're sorry_. I almost lost everything because of this war! I'm not going to accept a piddly apology for that!"

Wolf let his arms fall to his sides limply. "I'm… sorry."

"I told you I'm not accepting your damn apology!" James barked, tightening his hold on his weapon. "Give me a fucking answer to my question or I will fucking kill her! I'm not fuckin' around here!"

Wolf picked his muzzle up, revealing his heavily watered violet eyes and his visibly conflicted expression. He let out an agonized sigh, then gazed into the tod's burning emerald green eyes and spoke in a heavily broken and shaky voice.

"I'm sorry dad, but if anyone's gonna tan your hide… It's me."

**_BANG_**

Sheila screamed loudly as she heard a gun discharge, but instead of feeling her world go dark, she felt the vulpine's arm go limp around her neck and slide off. The next sound she heard after her screaming subsided was a heavy thud from the ground near her. She hesitantly opened her eyes and glanced over to the source of the thud, then gasped at the sight of James' wide open, but unresponsive emerald eyes.

She turned her glance to Wolf, who had just released his grip on a small concealed handgun and stared at the body of James with even larger eyes. As the gun clattered to the ground, he stood up off the ground and started crying loudly.

"GOD DAMMIT JAMES!" the lupine shouted in a voice shattered like glass. "WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST LISTEN?! WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST ACCEPT THE TRUTH?!"

He bent down and picked up the handgun, then spun and hurled it over the toppled trees. He sobbed loudly and turned to face the corpse once again.

"This is your fault! YOURS!" he continued, snarling with an intensity that was almost feral. "You wouldn't accept the fucking truth, and look what god damn happened! DAMMIT! Why wouldn't you just fucking listen James? Why didn't you just let her go?!"

Wolf broke down after his last outburst, flopping into the dirt face first and cried with an intensity the husky had never seen before. She took another quick glance at the tiny hole ripped over James' right eye, then rushed to the sobbing lupine.

Wolf heard the husky's footsteps coming, then before Sheila could even react the lupine had sprang up and embraced her frame tightly, letting his tears flow onto her shoulder.

"Are you ok Sheila?" he whispered questioningly, breathing heavily into her neck as his paws cradled her head.

"I'm fine," she replied in her own shaky voice, herself embracing the lupine tightly. Wolf let out another grief filled sob again as he buried his muzzle into her hair.

"I killed him," Wolf gasped breathily and disbelievingly. Sheila continued her consoling embrace as she rubbed both of her paws on his back.

"I had to," he continued, tightly grasping the husky's head. "He was going to kill you. He was going to slaughter you like an animal because he wanted to get back at me. This is all my fault."

"No it's not," she replied with watery eyes. "He just wanted to pin the blame on someone. Wolf, he wasn't going to change. Even when he saw his wife like he said he did, he wasn't going to change. I hate to say it, but… you did the right thing. He was gonna make things even worse if he stayed alive."

"He was my father," he interrupted. "He sacrificed so much for me, and I did that to him."

Sheila lifted his head up and held in in both of her paws. She wiped away a few of his tears with her fingers, then pressed her nose against his.

"His flaws just came back to bite him," she stated, making Wolf's muzzle open slightly in realization. "Just like Nathan said. He refused to believe the truth, and… it… got him killed. You didn't kill him Wolf… his flaws did."

Wolf sniffed and buried his muzzle deep into the husky's hair again. "Sheila… I'm… I'm so sorry."

"I'm sorry too," she responded, continuing her tight embrace on the lupine. She happened to look over towards the trees, then almost gasped at the sight of a bloodied arctic fox leaning against the tree.

Vince narrowly survived the impact, judging by his appearance. His clothing was tattered and covered in blood, much like his fur, and he was panting heavily as he propped his weight against a tree. His mouth was gapped, signifying he had saw the entire ordeal as it unfolded. James' meltdown, the talks, and the gunshot; he saw everything.

Transitioning his gaze from the Great Fox's remnants, James' corpse, and the couple embracing each other wholeheartedly, he slowly pulled up his transmitter and spoke into it breathily.

"This is Stazac," he said stoically, then after letting a long breath of air through his nose, he continued in that same voice. "Bring Destroyer three to our coordinates for picking up survivors immediately. We're picking up whoever's left, and getting off this planet immediately."

He sighed once again and stared at the chaos that had ensued over the last couple minutes, then continued his message with a slight grin.

"The war is over."

* * *

**##########**

* * *

**The war may be over, Vince, but this story isn't. Stay tuned for a few more resolving updates, hopefully very soon. As usual, please tell me what you guys think of this chapter, because I'd be lying if I said this chapter didn't matter, obviously. I wanna hear from everyone on this chapter, so please, make use of that little text box down there \/ (if you're on mobile... whatever you do on there to leave feedback is greatly encouraged).**

**I hope to hear from you guys soon, and I hope you enjoyed this update. Take care fellas, and stay tuned for a bit more from me.**


	26. All Because of You

_You love when the pressure just pulls me apart  
You're fueling the fire, it just won't stop  
It keeps growing and burning and taking my world down in flames  
While I'm waiting on the other line_

_Now tell me the truth  
Don't make me wait too long  
You have to prove  
That I shouldn't move on  
Giving in is the price I pay  
These words alone hurt enough to walk away  
You think I hang on everything you say  
And worst of all you're predictable_

_*Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! – The Other Line*_

* * *

**Corneria City (three days later)**

The entire crowd of almost two million Cornerians stood and fell silent as the curtain covering the back of the stage split. Sitting in a wheelchair with his left arm in a sling sat their beloved General Pepper, clothed in his iconic crimson Cornerian General's outfit. A similarly clothed canine wrapped his paws around the handles of the wheelchair and pushed him forward, stopping inches before his knees hit the shortened podium. The soldier gave his salute and stepped off, then watched as Pepper tapped the microphone strapped to the podium with his right paw. As the noise from the countless speakers died down, he cleared his throat and raised his eyes to the large crowd.

"I… I hate to admit this to you, but… I was wrong… I was so wrong."

Pepper, to the crowd's surprise, chuckled softly and continued. "I was just as shocked as you were. One minute, we are all perfectly fine, living our daily lives without having to worry about anything, and the next, we're cleaning up our capital city that was devastated by the actions an intergalactic civilization."

The crowd started murmuring to each other softly, but the bloodhound raised his right paw and started speaking again. "However, unlike our first presumptions of the act, we've concluded that it was not an intentional act of aggression. This was the result of a failed experimental satellite launched by the humans. And… believe my, my friends… I wish I would have known that sooner…

"I didn't take the accident claim into consideration, and because of my own incompetence, I made the damage to our home world worse than it needed to be… I sent thousands of our best troops to try and exact revenge on the humans, when in reality all I did was send them to the slaughterhouse."

Pepper sniffed slightly as he held back a bit of emotion. "For those of you here who had family enlisted in the force, and those same relatives were killed in the war… from the bottom of my heart, I sincerely apologize. I caused their deaths, and more importantly, I caused the emotional deterioration of many others as a result of that action."

Pepper again lowered his head into the microphones. "Words cannot express how sincerely sorry I am for bringing this unneeded conflict upon us all. All it did was shed more blood against us."

The bloodhound used his free paw to wipe away a tear. "I… I lost a very close friend on the final day of the war… We all lost an idol… a hero… the bravest fighter the CDF has ever had the privilege to employ… …We lost the leader of Star Fox; James McCloud."

A chorus of low cheers and applause resounded from the audience at the recognition of the vulpine's name. Pepper waited until silence replaced the applause, then continued in a shaky voice.

"The day the satellite hit Corneria City, James lost his wife… …He never recovered from the grief… …He was driven insane. He lost his mind. He went from the young, talented, loveable, rational soldier that I knew back when he was just a rookie pilot, and changed into a man hell-bent on revenge and retaliation. I had never seen him so inconsolable in my life. In all honesty, if there was one thing that influenced my initial viewpoint of the war, it was him. I mean, he was always the one to have the right decision expressed in the way he acted and responded, and since he so openly conveyed his inner desire for retaliation, I agreed with him. He had never faulted me before, but in this case, I was wrong."

Pepper sniffed even louder and glanced off to the right of the crowd. "Oh god was I wrong… I… I've never made such a terrible decision in my term as your general. I disgraced this highly coveted seat of power, and I disgraced the entire Cornerian Defense Force into forcing them into fighting such a cruel, violent, and most of all, unnecessary war. This is my fault we had to add to our death toll, and it's my fault we lost the greatest man of our generation…

"I take the blame for it all… The impulsively declared war, the thousands that were killed as a result, and the fact that we as a nation almost split in half. Let's face facts… I almost let our beloved world fight it out in a civil war. If that were to actually happen, only the gods would know how many of you wouldn't be standing here listening to me."

Pepper let the tears flow from his eyes as he continued his speech in a shaky voice. "I've wasted enough of your time already. You all know why this war ended. You all know why this terrible time of Cornerian history started, and you all know how it came to an end. You all know the circumstances on why it ended, and the countless amounts of lives that were lost before it finally came to an end. The reason I'm still speaking to you is because… I have an announcement… Something that I know all of you will want to hear."

Pepper wiped his nose on his sleeve, looked down at the floor for a few moments, then picked his eyes back up that were glazed over with tears. "It is with a heavy heart that I say I am officially stepping down from the position as your lead general."

Once again, the murmuring among the large crowd commenced in a much louder volume. Pepper didn't wait for the audience to silence itself as he was back to talking, and as soon as he did they listened intently.

"I cannot carry the blood of your loved ones on my paws. I've ruined my reputation as your general, and I thought it would be a good idea to start a new phase in Cornerian history with a brand new lead general to take my place. You do not have to worry about who will take my place, because I can assure you the person taking my place will do my job much better than I could have ever hoped to do."

Pepper grinned for the first time in his speech, then slowly backed his wheelchair away from the podium. "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome your newly promoted lead general of the Cornerian Defense Force… Wes Jaeger."

A loud chorus of howls, claps, and cheers was heard from the crowd as the gray tinged wolf-dog stepped onto the stage. He was wearing the exact same uniform the bloodhound was currently wearing, but to the crowd's surprise and confusion the left side of his face was covered in a large white bandage. He waved to the large audience as he approached the podium, then as soon as they quieted down he spoke in his unmistakable accented voice.

"Words cannot express how eager I am to take this position. It will be a very difficult task to succeed the great legacy General Pepper has left me in charge of, but I will make sure that I will do the right thing… the first time."

He laid his elbows on the podium and continued. "Believe it or not, but I was on the pro-war side too. I wanted to see our military get revenge just as much as the next guy, but there was one day that changed my viewpoint. I had the privilege to talk to a human that risked his life to help our kind. Not _his_, but _ours_. He was looking out for us, and was trying to ensure that our kind got off the planet before it was too late. Unfortunately… we were… We were far too late to leave without suffering a heavy loss. I tried to get James to realize that, but… that was when he snapped. He lost his mind, and I firmly believe he brought his death on himself…

"I respected him as a knowledgeable leader and a courageous warrior, but as soon as he murdered the human that wanted to see that we survived in cold blood… I lost all of my respect towards him… I _couldn't_ respect him anymore. He was a ruthless killer, and in all honesty… I couldn't see him surviving the war. He was our very last casualty, and although he might have been the greatest military mind behind Pepper himself… James is in a better place. He's finally reunited with his wife. He's finally free of the emotional and physical suffering."

Wes cleared his throat and folded his paws on the podium. "Now that that is out of the way, I need to explain how I am going to run the CDF now. I will do my best to run it the way General Pepper would want me too, and I promise, I will not start a war unless it is absolutely necessary too."

Another round of applause emanated from the crowd at the hybrid's promise, then once the noise was at a minimum he spoke up again. "Unfortunately, the Prime Minister could not make it to this address, but he asked me to assure you guys that we will rebuild. We will recreate Corneria City better, cleaner, and stronger than ever before. Will all of us working together, we can accomplish this seemingly impossible feat… …We already accomplished a miracle with surviving the war we declared on the humans, and if we can do that, we sure as hell can rebuild our capital."

Wes let a large smile crease his muzzle. "We'll rebuild the Cornerian Defense Force from the ground up, and we will make sure to keep our population safe."

Howls and massive rounds of cheering screamed from the audience at the newly appointed general's promise, and once it died down again he gave a one-handed salute to the rest of the audience.

"And… I promise not to impulsively declare a war on anyone… not unless the other group or military has a blatantly obvious reason to do so… Until then, ladies and gentlemen… Stay safe."

* * *

**Corneria General Hospital**

Vince staggered to his feet after sitting up off of the hospital bed, relieved that he had finished yet another round of stitches and treatment for his wounds. He had a large bandage covering the bridge of his muzzle, and underneath his white lab coat were tracks upon tracks of stiches covering his arms and torso. He was finally completely patched up, but the excruciating pain was something he needed to get used to.

He hesitantly poked his abused muzzle out of the doorway, then stepped out into the hall and trotted down through the crowded hallway, glancing at a few occupied rooms as he worked his way down to the lobby.

The first room he peered into was the room housing the remnants of the once renowned Husky Squadron – Sharp, Kassian, and Christina – all getting checked on by the medical staff. Seemed like one minute that squadron was the pinnacle of the entire Cornerian Defense Force; the next minute it's in shambles with half of the members dead. They were all very close too. It would be a very interesting subject to see if any of the surviving pilots would continue in their squadron after all they've been through. Hell, they might even retire the squadron permanently. It all depends on if the pilots want to fly or not following their grueling and mentally strenuous missions, on top of the fact they watched their teammates die in the line of duty.

Sharp, the highest ranking pilot still remaining in the squadron, showed absolutely no desire to launch again. For Kassian, he still had some fight in him, but that was his personality, and in all honesty if someone was going to take over as the lead Husky Squadron pilot it was him. Christina now had a family to care for, being the officially authorized caregiver to the human child Emily, along with having a boyfriend that was closer than she could have ever imagined before. She didn't have time to get back into an Arwing, nor did she ever want to after the war. And Sheila… she was another story.

The next room Vince peeked into had Dustin's Special Forces group, minus one member. Poor Rusty, the small coyote that had pulled Fox out of the human house, suffered too much trauma even with the Great Fox's shock absorbers and never woke up from the coma he fell into. Dustin, the large husky/shepherd hybrid, survived with minor injuries despite being less protected than the coyote. Ashley, the black vixen that had found herself into a rather controversial relationship with the late James McCloud was being treated by a whole slew of doctors and nurses, so obviously she was in a very critical state. Dustin himself said that he didn't want his team to be wrongfully used anymore, after being told of James' meltdown and biased viewpoint.

Another room down the hall housed the only two survivors of Destroyer 2 that had crashed following an extremely brutal and nasty storm, Kurt and Brendan. Those two were lucky to be alive after surviving their improvised crash landing. Kurt would be alright, and would most likely be flying in a few weeks, but it would be a miracle if Brendan could fly again with how severe his injuries were.

As he walked into the haphazardly reconstructed lobby after eavesdropping on the other soldiers briefly, he saw a few doctors standing around the reception desk with a familiar blue avian leaning near them.

"Surprisingly, only your left wing is fractured," one of the doctors remarked, staring at his tablet. "Nothing too terrible. Just make sure you've got that cast on at all times, and it should be a speedy recovery."

"Great," Riley chirped in relief, and as soon as he spun around and saw the arctic fox he smiled. "Oh, thank the gods you're alright Vince."

"I could be better," Vince chuckled, gingerly patting the avian's uninjured shoulder. "How you holding up?"

"Better than I thought," he answered. "I was lucky the Great Fox's shock absorbers kicked in right at the perfect moment, otherwise we would've had a lot more casualties."

"How is everyone?" Vince asked.

One of the doctors, a rather thin greyhound, cleared his throat and slid his tablet over to him. "There's our list of injuries and deceased for the crew of the Great Fox."

"Thank you," Vince said before lifting it up and staring at it intently. His eyes scrolled down the names and injuries before he finally found a name he recognized.

"Wes checked out already… that's good," he muttered to himself, then continued to speak under his breath as more and more names popped up. "Peppy's okay… Riley's alright, of course… …Oh… Ashley's in rough shape?"

"She's in ICU," the doctor replied. "_Very_ critical. We're doing the best we can with her since she's in gestation."

Vince's eyes widened instantly. "Ashley's pregnant?"

"She's in her very first stages," the greyhound answered. "In fact, this is extremely recent. Couldn't have been more than three days ago."

"How?"

"Even if we knew, we're not allowed to disclose that kind of personal information," the doc admitted. "To be honest, I wasn't supposed to tell you about her condition of maternity, but… you seemed to show some care for her. Are you her father, sir?"

"No, I'm…" Vince hesitated for a split-second. "I'm a very close friend. When she wakes up, tell her… Tell her I'm very sorry."

After the doctor nodded, Vince kept scrolling down the seemingly endless list of injured Cornerian soldiers, until one particular instance stuck out like a large traffic cone, instantly freezing the vulpine.

"James…" he whispered, then hesitated when he glanced up at a female wolf doctor. He thought about how bad of a situation Wolf was in with possibly getting convicted on first degree murder. He also thought of Fox, and how much he loved that wolf, and how distraught he would be if they possibly had him thrown in prison where he could never see him again.

He knew what he had to do, and it pained him to do it, but it was for Fox. He had to do it for Fox.

"Um, excuse me doc, but the information you have here… it's incorrect," Vince said pensively after a hard swallow.

"Hmm?" she hummed, turning to face the tablet. "Oh, James McCloud? There have been numerous reports of his death being a homicide."

Vince swallowed hard again, feeling sweat start to bead on his forehead. "I'm sorry doc, but, these reports must be false. I saw James die right in front of me, and… I saw a self-inflicted shot."

The female doctor's eyes opened wide. "Oh, so… James' death was a suicide?"

Vince let out a long breath of air and nodded. "It pains me to say it, but… I saw what he did. He was so distraught that… he just didn't want to take the grief anymore. It wasn't a homicide – whoever told you that was lying, I'm afraid."

"Oh, I'm… I'm sorry sir," the doctor frowned, then forced a grin. "Thank you for giving me the correct information. I'll get that corrected right away."

"Sure thing," Vince managed to choke out before the doctor left to update the information. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Riley curiously scanning his surroundings, then leaned over and whispered to him almost silently.

"Vince, what are you doing? You know Wolf killed James."

"I know," Vince whispered back. "But Wolf, he… he doesn't deserve to get convicted of something he didn't voluntarily do."

"What do you mean he didn't?"

Vince sighed once again and lowered his ears. "James almost killed Sheila. I saw everything that happened on the surface, and he… he was going to kill her out of spite."

"So… Wolf shot James to save Sheila?"

Vince nodded, then shut his eyes tightly. "I could've stopped him though."

Riley cocked his head. "Stopped who?"

"James," he answered after a brief silence. "I could have stopped him from trying to kill her, and more importantly… I could've stopped Wolf from killing James."

"But, James was your best friend. Why didn't you?"

"_Was_," Vince corrected, practically choking on his words. "Riley, James was like a brother to me. He was my best friend, but, once I found out that he was the one that wanted revenge, even if it cost him his family, I had no respect for him. Whatever happened to him because of this war… I firmly believe he had it coming."

Before Riley could respond, Vince cranked his head up and started at the bird. "Wolf was not, and will not be the enemy. He did nothing wrong. I'm trying to protect him from getting arrested and possibly executed, because he did not do anything wrong in the slightest. James, he… I hate to say it but… he deserved to be put down."

"Vince…"

"Who would you rather have live?" Vince suddenly asked in a noticeably faltering voice. "That heartless deranged monster that was James, or someone like Wolf that was trying to _protect_ his family – even if he had to do the extremes?"

Riley opened his beak, but couldn't find the right words to say.

"Wolf didn't need to be put through the hell of having Sheila get killed, by James no less," Vince continued as Riley's beak slowly shut. "Wolf put his own life on the line to make sure that Fox and Sheila stayed away from James because he was, like I just said, a deranged monster. Fox didn't just lose his mother on the day the satellite hit, but he lost his father that day too. James wasn't James during the war, and I don't blame Wolf for killing him, as much as it pains me to say it."

After the fox finished, his eyes shot open as he pounded his paws on the table. "Fox. Fox, w-where is he?"

"Probably still at the cemetery," Riley answered. "They buried James earlier today."

"I need to go talk to him," he blurted out, and within moments and without another word, Vince bolted from the lobby and out into the parking lot.

* * *

_All because of you,  
I haven't slept in so long  
When I do I dream  
of drowning in the ocean,  
Longing for the shore  
Where I can lay my head down  
Inside these arms of yours._

_All because of you,  
I believe in angels  
Not the kind with wings,  
No, not the kind with halos,  
The kind that bring you home  
When home becomes a strange place  
I'll follow your voice  
All you have to do is shout it out…_

_*Rise Against – The Good Left Undone*_


	27. One Last Preformance

_Hold my gaze, love; you know I want to let it go  
We will stare down at the wonder of it all  
And I… I will hold you in it  
And I… I will hold you in it_

_Been wondering for days,  
How you felt me slip your mind  
Leave behind your wanting ways,  
I want to look you in the eye  
'Cause you were all I ever longed for_

_Been wondering for days,  
How you felt me slip you mind  
Leave behind your wanting ways  
I want to learn in love and kind  
'Cause you were all I ever longed for_

_*Mumford &amp; Sons – The Wolf*_

* * *

Fox felt tears well up in his eyes as he approached the headstone engraved with his last name on it for the umpteenth time since the ceremony only a few hours ago. It pained him to even think about the headstone, and it absolutely killed him from the inside knowing the both his mother and father were under that stone. It was a beautifully crafted headstone, with a wonderful red-brown granite color and exquisite craftsmanship, but it didn't raise his spirit at all. His parents were still confined underneath it.

It took one week. One week for his entire life to fall apart. In a span of one week he had lost both of his parents and a great friend. It was a roller coaster of emotions, one he never thought in his entire lifetime he'd ever have to deal with. One week. One painful, emotionally exhausting week.

James' funeral service was an interesting one to say the least. Even with the terrible things that he had done but eventually reconciled for, he was given a hero's burial service. He was a hero, but not in this particular war. Like Pepper said, he was a legendary pilot; one that could never be replaced so easily. He had done numerous heroic things to give him the title of a modern day Cornerian hero, but with the war they are now dubbing the "First Contact" war, he could have been much greater than he was. He could have been considered immortal if he was on the correct side, but unfortunately, everyone has their flaws.

Fox nearly cringed as Nathan's words about his father's flaws echoed in his mind. The tears welled over his eyelids and traced a path down his cheek, not stopping until the trail got to the base of his jawline.

He reached into his shirt and pulled out the small golden chain and matching cross charm, then clutched it tightly as he let his head hang low and let a whimper surface. Even though his father and mother were lying peacefully just under the topsoil, he couldn't help but feel hopeless. Both of his parents were long gone, and the worst part was there was no warning in the slightest. He had no anticipation of his mother being brutally thrown from a tree, and no expectance of his own brother killing his father.

God; that hurt. That really did hurt him. He saw the entire thing from the window of the Destroyer, and he couldn't believe his heart could split so many times. The first split was the Great Fox's final moments airborne, the second was his father's unexpected swing in emotions for yet a _third_ time in the last week, and the final _literal_ nail in the coffin was his own brother putting a laser right over his father's eye.

What pained him the most out of everything was that he couldn't blame Wolf in the slightest for shooting him. He couldn't blame anyone for that matter, and that pinned up anger he couldn't force on anyone was slowly dripping out of his eyes onto the grave below. He kept hearing his father say that he wasn't in his right mind during almost the entire duration of the war, and just when he finally regained his ideal mental state, it collapsed faster than his own corpse yet again.

Why did he have to think about it? Every second of thinking about his father's last moments only caused more tears to well up in his eyes and dump out onto his auburn furred cheeks, much like a bursting levee during an intense rainstorm. He couldn't stop the tears. As much as he wanted to just say his final goodbye to his parents and walk away, he couldn't bring himself to. He couldn't bring himself to do a lot of things, and one in particular was a main cause of his tears.

Although in his last hour, James had reconciled his faults and mistakes and became a slate that had been attempted to be wiped clean but still had streaks of ink all over it, Fox still was doubtful of its legitimacy. He knew his father had lost his mind after his kit had voluntarily left the comfort of his attempted care for yet a second time in the same short week, but did he ever regain it? Was his fault admission just a ruse to escape the pain? Fox still didn't know. All he knew was that he donned the skepticism towards his father just as he mentioned the supposed apparition of his mother, and ever since then he still couldn't wholeheartedly believe his conversion. He greatly appreciated the apology towards him and Wolf, but was it actually a genuine apology? Did he sincerely mean it, or was it, again, a ruse just to get Wolf to relinquish his kit back to him? Another way out of the pain?

James had done too many wrong and senseless things, and Fox knew it. James himself said it; he started the war. He caused the conflicts and instigated the pain, and the worst part about it was that they were impulsive and unthoughtful retaliatory actions. He just wanted revenge, and a revenge mentality in Fox's eyes didn't deserve a hero's burial. His cold-blooded murder of his human friend didn't merit a huge service when his karma finally caught up with him. Although Fox absolutely loved his father, he still couldn't _actually_ love him, and that's what caused his immense sadness.

And why should he? He tried to kill his own brother, and succeeded in killing numerous people he cared about and had friendships with. He really wasn't a hero, and it pained the little vulpine to not think of his father as a hero. It's every father's dream to have their son regard them as a hero, and Fox did for a very long time, but it took one week to change it. One bloody, heartless, chaotic week.

Fox wasn't crying because his father was killed. He was crying because his father died, and he couldn't feel sorry for him. It pained him to think this way, but to be frankly honest his father deserved it. A broken, insane, emotionally scarred man that had no sincere remorse for causing hell upon everyone didn't deserve to be called a hero. Fox loved his father, but didn't love his father's actions over that terrible week. As much as it killed him to admit it, but he couldn't genuinely love his father with his entire heart. There were too many instances of him blatantly breaking his relations with his family just to get revenge, and even when he tried to apologize for it, he went straight back to that mentality after his warship got destroyed. It was like he had no compassion towards anyone, and that selfishness got him killed.

There were too many things James did wrong, and Fox never fully forgave him. He had his regrets of not telling his father how much he loved him, but the fact that he couldn't be truthful about saying it made the tears flow even more. That was his father buried under his feet, and he couldn't sincerely tell him he loved him. He couldn't forgive him, even when it was too late. It hurt.

Fox produced a small red flower from his pocket, and as another tear dripped off of his nose he knelt down and placed it right between both James' and Vixy's names that were engraved on the beautiful headstone. He nearly let a sob escape his muzzle as he stood back up, then closed his eyes and let another waterfall of emotions flow down his auburn furred cheeks.

Without a moment's hesitation after the tears subsided, he reached behind his back and pulled his sleek black guitar down and into his paws. After wiping away the tears, he flicked a switch, and this time he needed no warmup as he was already strumming.

This time, however, he started off fast, but the real tempo of the song was lowered in his actual playing because of his emotions. He couldn't bring himself to play a fast song just yet, but he still stretched it with a relatively newer song that he had just unofficially mastered the chords to. He managed to go even slower with his tempo as the strings quieted, and in the first time in over a week, he finally started singing.

"Wide-eyed…" he started quietly, almost in a whisper, continuously strumming the strings slowly. "With a heart made full of fright… Your eyes follow like tracers in the night…"

Another tear formed and flowed down his cheek, but he disregarded the emotions and continued his personal concert for his father. He remembered he requested playing a song for him a long while back, and although he was too late to hear it physically, he still could watch from the heavens; watching his kit put his entire heart into his words and strings. It was the only way for him to express his love for him, was to play him a song as he requested long before he lost his mind and his relationships. Plus, Fox himself felt better when he could put his emotions into playing. It soothed him quite a bit.

"And the tightrope… …that you wander every time… You have been waiting, you have been found wanting."

He started to pick up speed, nodding his head as if he was hearing the drums in his head again, and in a slightly louder voice he continued in a very beautiful tune coming from his younger voice.

"Been wondering for days, how you felt me slip your mind… Leave behind your wanting ways, I want to learn in love in kind… Cause you were all I ever longed for…"

After finishing the last word, he slipped into a much louder instrumental portion of the song, and he couldn't help but grin as he heard the perfect strings come out of his guitar. He wasn't even aware that he was playing so perfectly; he was just letting his heart play, and his heart was playing flawlessly.

Lowering his voice again, he started up the lyrics once more. "Sheltered… you better keep the wolf back from the door… He wanders ever closer every night… ...And how he waits, baying for blood… I promised you everything would be fine…"

Again, he raised his voice and tempo; playing not from memory, but from his heart, wanting to put on a perfect show for his father to express how sorry he was for not forgiving him.

"Been wondering for days, how you felt me slip your mind… Leave behind your wanting ways, I want you to learn and love in kind… Cause you were all I ever longed for…"

After a split second pause, another much louder set of notes sprang for his guitar; filling the seemingly empty cemetery with the sound of his beautiful song. Seemingly is noted, because the vulpine was so preoccupied with his song that he didn't even realize Vince was standing near his black sedan, listening to the orange vulpine play. He couldn't help but smile at his talent, but also felt a tear form in his eye as he realized who he was singing to.

In the middle of his string of notes, Fox picked his voice up and sang again, but it was noticeably faltering because of his emotional state.

"Hold my gaze love, you know I want to let it go. We will stare down at the wonder of it all and I… I will hold you in it, and I… I will hold you in it."

He suddenly shifted to a much quieter section and sang in an almost inaudible whisper. "Been wondering for days, how you felt me slip your mind… Leave behind your wanting ways, I want to look you in the eye… Cause you were all I ever longed for."

He again shot into the familiar louder riff and sang in his unmistakable voice. "Been wondering for days, how you felt me slip your mind… Leave behind your wanting ways, I want to learn to love and kind… Cause you were all I ever longed for..."

He let the guitar's noise die down as he stood there in silence, staring at his father's gravesite and panting slightly and quietly. As the guitar finally silenced, Fox was startled when Vince finally slipped up and placed a paw over his shoulder. He turned to face him, then almost instantly broke down as he saw the grin, combined with the watery eyes of the white vulpine.

"That was beautiful," Vince remarked softly. "I could tell that song was for your father. It really is heartwarming to see you play for him, even when this happened to him…"

Vince closed his eyes and exhaled silently. "Fox… I'm… I'm so sorry this happened to you."

Fox flipped the guitar onto his back, then immediately lunged forward and hugged the arctic fox, letting tears and sobs that had been withheld for the entire duration of the performance surface. Vince sucked his lips into his muzzle to keep himself from crying, then started to slowly rub Fox's back in a reassuring manner.

"It's okay," he whispered, mostly drowned out by Fox's sobbing. "I know buddy… I know… Your father, he's… he's finally away from the suffering. Away from the pain of this life. He's finally with your mother in a less hectic and painful place, and… I know it's tough, but I know you agree with me."

Fox grunted in affirmation, still with his muzzle buried into Vince's coat.

"I know you loved him a lot," Vince continued. "I don't blame you at all for being upset, because… he was a good friend of mine too. What happened to him shocked me too, but…"

Vince cut himself off once he felt his own cold tear traverse down his cheek. He knelt down, gently picked Fox's head off of his jacket, and then stared into his reddened eyes with his own, trying his best not to cry aloud himself.

"Fox… Your father always told me that if he was ever suddenly killed in combat, and you were too young to care for yourself… I would be responsible for taking care of you."

Fox nodded, obvious that he had this discussion with his father before. Vince attempted a grin to lighten the mood, then continued in a faltering voice.

"I'll never be as good of a fatherly figure as he was, but… I'll try my best to care for you as he would want me to. You and he both considered me family, and… I will make sure to keep that title with me."

Fox managed a grin as he again lunged forward and wrapped his arms around the arctic fox's waist, sniffling into his jacket. Vince rubbed the back of the smaller tod's head and let another cold tear leave his eyes.

"Come on Fox," he started, standing up off the ground. "Let's get you back home."

Fox nodded, but before he chased after the white vulpine he turned back to face his father's and mother's headstone. Taking one more long and longing look at the words engraved into the granite, he lifted up the small golden cross, gave it a tender kiss as he gave one last goodbye to his parents, then spun around and slowly trotted towards the white fox's car. He placed his guitar in the trunk, then slipped into the passenger seat as Vince started the car. As the black sedan was warming up, Vince turned to face the kit once again and gave a forced smile.

Fox gave a half-assed smile back, then let his ears fall back as he dropped his muzzle. "I miss him already," he squeaked pitifully, immediately breaking the older vulpine's heart. Vince almost instantly sniffed, then wiped another stray tear away as he leaned over and laid his paw on his shoulder.

"I do too buddy," he answered, patting him consolingly. "I do to."

* * *

_You and I in a little toy shop  
buy a bag of balloons with the money we've got  
Set them free at the break of dawn  
'Til one by one, they were gone  
Back at base, bugs in the software  
Flash the message, "Something's out there"  
Floating in the summer sky  
Ninety-nine red balloons go by._

_Ninety-nine red balloons floating in the summer sky  
Panic bells, it's red alert  
There's something here from somewhere else  
The war machine, it springs to life  
Opens up one eager eye  
Focusing it on the sky  
As ninety-nine red balloons go by._

_99 Decision Street, ninety-nine ministers meet  
To worry, worry – super scurry  
Call out the troops now in a hurry  
This is what we've waited for  
This is it boys, this is war  
The president is on the line  
As ninety-nine red balloons go by._

_Neunundneunzig Kriegsminister – (99 Secretary of War)  
Streichholz und Benzinkanister – (Matches and gasoline canisters)  
Hielten sich für schlaue Leute – (Professing themselves to be smart people)  
Witterten schon fette Beute – (Already weathered fat and easy prey)  
Riefen: Krieg und wollten Macht – (Shouted the war and wanted power)  
Mann, wer haette das gedacht – (Man who would have thought)  
Daß es einmal soweit kommt – (That even if it comes)  
Wegen Neunundneunzig Luftballons – (Because of 99 balloons)_

_Ninety-nine dreams I have had  
In every one a red balloon  
It's all over and I'm standin' pretty  
In the dust that was a city  
If I could find a souvenir  
Just to prove the world was here  
And here it is, a red balloon  
I think of you and let it go._

_*Goldfinger – 99 Red Balloons*_


	28. Rumors of My Demise Were Exaggerated

_So please don't ask me how  
I ended up at my wit's end and breaking down  
Pages torn from books we never read  
'Cause we're plugged into this grid  
Don't pull this plug right now, or then we'd really have to live_

_When I die will they remember not  
What I did, but what I haven't done?  
It's not the end that I fear with each breath  
It's life that scares me to death_

_When we build these dreams on sand_  
_How they all slip through our hands_  
_This might be our only chance_  
_Let's take this one day at a time_  
_I'll hold your hand if you hold mine_  
_The time that we kill keeps us alive_

_*Rise Against – Rumors of My Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated*_

* * *

**Cornerian Defense Force HQ**

In quiet and contemplative silence, Wolf and Sheila sat chained to the stainless steel table bolted into the ground before them. A single light illuminated the cement room they were holed up in, only adding to their strained nerves and overwhelming worry.

Wolf glanced over to the husky and gave her a faint, tender smile to ease her worries. "It's okay. We'll be okay."

"I'm scared, Wolf," she squeaked out, her ears and tail fidgeting along with the rest of her body as she sat locked up to a steel folding chair. "What are they gonna do to us?"

"They won't do anything," Wolf assured her. "Just stay calm, okay?"

Sheila whimpered and begrudgingly nodded her head. Satisfied with her answer, Wolf let his head fall back, shutting his eyes to avoid staring up at the light overhead. He had to think of something, otherwise the both of them would be screwed.

They didn't even have a chance to run. Their transgressions were already on record, and as soon as they stepped foot on Corneria again, they were detained. This was mere hours after their capture, and they were still awaiting the inevitable round of questioning. Still, what would he say? That it wasn't his fault? He _knew_ that he had full awareness of his actions, so he could only hope that his sincerity in his apology would lessen his punishment.

The deadbolt on the door unlatched, causing both canines to jerk their heads towards the slowly forming opening. In unison once more, they both let out gasps at who slipped into the room with them. The newly appointed General of the CDF, Wes. Maybe they had a chance.

"Long time, no see," Wes started blankly, his expression as even as his tone. He didn't express an aura of hostility or malice, but by the same token, he showed no signs of mirth or compassion either. With his hands in his pockets, he shut the door with his backside before stepping forward, stopping inches before the table separating him and the "traitors." "I trust that everything was smooth and comfortable?"

"Barely," Wolf answered.

"I hate to break it to you," Wes continued, now placing his open hands on the edge of the table to support his leaning weight. "But you two are in a whole hell of a lot of trouble."

"Tell me something I didn't know," Wolf muttered.

Wes nodded his head. "Okay. I'll cut to the chase. Sheila, Wolf; you both have transgressions on your records, and I unfortunately cannot reverse or shorten the sentence as is. What I'm looking at is your accounts of treason, which is punishable by death, as you know."

Sheila whimpered again. "But—"

"Hold on," Wolf interrupted. "Wes, you know as good as I do that what we did wasn't wrong by any stretch of the word. How can you say that we committed treason when we only helped?"

"You turned against your own military while you were enlisted," the hybrid continued. "Sheila especially. That _literally_ defines treason."

"God dammit Wes, you _helped_ me!" Wolf growled. "You let me escape from being arrested the first time! How can you sit here and question us about what we did when you let us go for the same thing?"

Wes stopped, slowly letting his eyes fall to the floor. "We all make mistakes."

"Yeah; _clearly_!" the lupine snapped. "But that doesn't mean we should be tried when there are hundreds of soldiers that have killed innocent people in our ranks."

"They don't have as many crimes on their records as you two do," he argued. "I'm sorry, Wolf, I'd love to set you two out again, but I have a new job and new authority. I can't just give you a slap on the wrist and set you free."

"Wes, please," Sheila squeaked out. "You know that we didn't do anything."

"I know," Wes mumbled.

"And you know that we saved thousands of lives by—"

"Sheila, I said I know," Wes grunted sternly, gripping his forehead. "But you broke your CDF contract. Wolf, you breached our security, and committed first degree murder."

"I was saving her life," Wolf argued. "James was going to kill her if I didn't do anything."

"Still doesn't change the facts," the wolf-dog shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you two walk free this time. Not without consequences."

"Then put all of it on me," Wolf blurted out. "Don't punish her."

"Wolf, no," Sheila butted in, looking directly at the lupine. "I'm not letting you—"

"That's enough," Wes interrupted tiredly. "I'm not changing the rules. I'm sorry, but as far as I'm concerned…"

Wes trailed off when he locked eyes with the couple again. Sheila still looked defiant and desperate to overrule her obvious death sentence, but Wolf looked as though he admitted full defeat. His violet eyes, exhausted, tired, and full of guilt, quivered as he anticipated his sentence. Those eyes had seen a lot during this conflict. They had seen life go from the highest of highs, all the way down to the complete opposite. They had seen family and friends brutally murdered before his eyes. They had seen chaos, death, destruction, heartbreak, failure, and guilt come and go like the flowing tides… …something someone of his young age should never have to experience in a lifetime, let alone now.

It took a short week for Wolf's life to be turned upside down with turbulent relationships with family, friends, and his own government. Just recalling how much the young wolf had gone through made the wolf-dog hesitate. Wolf survived that entire week with little to his name, but a faithful companion and an adoptive brother—both of which provided him with the strength to continue. He didn't rely on a set of misguided rules or an imposing father, but on his own will. That itself wouldn't be much, but Wes knew that he overcame the adversity just by that sheer will and support alone.

Wes saw something in him. Wolf's eyes relayed the chaos, but his heart withheld the truth. He stood against the odds and ultimately won. He hated to admit it, but that stubborn kid saved a lot of life. Who was he to take his own away from him?

"No," Wes breathed, turning to face the side wall. "I can't."

Wolf looked up, curiosity overtaking him.

"I can't do this," Wes continued. "You're right. Both of you are. You saved thousands by forcing us back. You did the right thing from the start… …I can't punish you for that."

"Wes…" the husky whispered in shock.

"But it still doesn't change the fact that what you did should have repercussions," he added swiftly. "And I have just the thing, just so that we don't have to deal with either one of you or your stubborn actions."

"Name your price," Wolf said, seemingly unfazed by Wes' disposition flip.

"You two can roam free," he began, looking at both of them dead in the eyes. "But with constant monitoring. You have to stay on Corneria. And… …I want the both of you to hang up your wings."

Both Sheila and Wolf looked absolutely stunned. Sheila broke the silence with a shrill, "What?"

"I'm going to decommission you from active duty," Wes continued, expression still stiff and unchanging. "Sheila, your Husky Squadron Leader title will be revoked, and you will not be allowed to fly for the CDF again. Wolf, same with you and your position, or with any other piloting company."

Wolf breathed. "So, you aren't executing us for treason?"

"As long as you accept my terms," Wes concluded. "Either you're grounded, or you're going _in_ the ground."

"Okay," Sheila about sobbed, her eyes glazed with tears. "I accept. I'll drop… I'll… I'll drop my position." She turned her head over to face Wolf. Wolf merely gave her a nod of assurance. "We both accept," she finished.

"Good," Wes finally let a small smile crease his muzzle. "And listen, I'm…" he trailed off for a moment, but finally managed to lean forward and talk to them with a more personal tone. "I'm sorry I had to do this to you guys. PM wasn't gonna let me release you two without consequences."

"I understand," Wolf weakly grinned back at him.

Wes nodded his head, then did the honors of unlatching Wolf and Sheila's wrists from their shackles. As he did so, he continued, "You two are good kids. If you need me to vouch for either one of you for a new career direction, I can do it; no problem."

"Thank you, Wes," Sheila smiled, instantly hugging the larger canine, who in turn returned the friendly gesture. After they had regained their bearings, Wes escorted them out of the HQ building, dropping them off at the main entrance. Rubble and construction vehicles littered the entire premises aside from a shambled road that led out of the complex.

Their view gave them a bleak picture of Corneria City's remnants. Damaged towers scraping the thick layer of overcast clouds stuck out like broken thumbs—abandoned and destined for certain demolition. Still, trails of smoke seeped out of the metropolitan city, intermixing with the clouds overhead. From their perch on the hill, deadlocked streets, mounds of concrete and twisted iron, and millions of displaced persons were intertwined with the remnants of what used to be a super city… now turned into a casualty. One distinct circular crater stood out to the both of them as where the satellite had struck, utter decimation in its wake.

Sheila immediately clung onto Wolf, burying herself into his warm, consoling grasp. Wolf tightly held on to her, gently massaging her back to give her that extra reassurance. For what felt like ten more minutes, Wolf whispered nothing but promises into her ear that they would be okay. That moment was one of the first times Wolf ever admitted to crying. They escaped. They _were_ okay.

The sound of rubber crunching gravel reached their ears, and by the time they had separated from each other, they were greeted with two familiar faces trotting up to meet up with them. Sheila, being who she was, immediately ran over and embraced little Fox with everything that she had. Wolf let those two hug it out while he met up face-to-face with Vince.

They said nothing at first, yet they didn't have to. Just like Wes, Vince saw everything lingering behind in Wolf's eyes, especially the guilt that plagued his aura. Wolf knew the truth about Vince and James, and damn did it hurt to stand before the former after what had happened. Vince's eyes looked about as tired as Wolf's were, but his didn't show anguish or malice. In fact… they glimmered with hope. Two sapphire pools of limitless compassion stared back at Wolf with such a vibrant intensity that he was beginning to lose his composure.

The still silence shared between them stopped when Vince sniffed, then held out his open paw. Wolf stared at it for a moment, wondering what its intentions were. When the lupine saw the fox's muzzle curl slightly, he met his hand with his own in a firm shake. No sooner did Wolf try to let go, Vince lurched forward and trapped him in a hug of his own. Just like Sheila and Fox, the hug was comforting, calm, and full of compassion that everyone needed to feel.

The two groups broke off of each other, then backed away to leave Fox face-to-face with Wolf. Just like with Vince, Wolf saw no hostility in the kit's eyes, which was all the reassurance Wolf needed out of him. But, by the same card, Fox looked… lost… He looked as though he didn't have anything to look forward to anymore. And who could blame him? He lost both his parents in a week's time, and appeared to have been sobbing at their gravesite for hours until he was brought here. He had calmed himself down since then, but at what cost? The poor kit looked emotionally dead, other than assuming a natural expression of uncertainty and heartbreak.

Wolf crouched down to be at eye level with the kit. "Fox…" he started off, suddenly finding it difficult to keep his voice level and calm. "Come here, buddy."

Fox obliged, slowly stepping towards him until Wolf could reach out and set a hand on his shoulder. Once again, the two of them stood in silence while they rummaged through their respective emotions. At a loss for words but overcome with a flood of emotions, Fox started to cry again as he gently fell into Wolf's hug. Wolf mimicked his emotions, softly crying into the kit's shoulder as the two of them shared a heartfelt, intimate moment with nothing but themselves and their feelings. A wave of relief washed over Wolf at Fox's vulnerability and needy actions, so much so that he gained the slightest feeling that maybe... maybe he wasn't mad.

He didn't ask right away for fear that it would ruin the moment. Out of the corner of his tear-filled eye, Wolf saw Sheila and Vince embrace in comfort as well, but he couldn't be bothered to break his hold on Fox. In fact, it only tightened, making sure to convey the physical assurance that he would never abandon the kit. He made sure to keep it loose enough to not hurt Fox, but he kept it tight as if to keep him safe. Their breathing mixed together with sniffles and occasional sobs melded into a mess of noise, but none of that mattered.

Wolf eventually pulled his head away, then gently took Fox's shoulders and pushed him off. Their tear-stained eyes met once again, conveying that odd, yet comfortable sense of distant kinship as if they shared in each other's sufferings. And indeed they did. Their respective emotions swirled together to the point where neither one knew which one was theirs anymore. Fox didn't know if he was relieved, irate, or grief-stricken, and Wolf the same. But they both knew one fact, and that was… They were glad to be together once again.

"Fox…" Wolf started out, his voice shaky and exposed. "You're not mad at me, are you?"

He wanted to get the bombshell out of the way right away, but from the looks of it, he probably should have waited. Fox didn't anticipate a question of such magnitude straightaway, and Wolf felt himself being poisoned upon uttering that stupid question. Their shared moment of blissful intimacy shattered when Fox had no choice but to look away, unable to respond truthfully. Emotions raged on inside both of them, tension building as a result.

Wolf felt like he was about to cry again. Their moment of silence had stretched on for a minute, and Fox showed no intention on answering, opting to stare at the cracks in the sidewalk. Wolf started to doubt whether or not Fox would answer in a way he wanted to hear, so his grip began to loosen. One hand fell off of his shoulder, yet he still said nothing. More tears were forming, knowing that Fox's emotional state had been completely shattered. He had to let go of him. As soon as he did, Fox whimpered.

"No," was all Fox could manage to say.

"What?" Wolf was quick to respond.

"I'm…" he hesitated, wiping his nose on his sleeve. The vulpine finally found enough courage to lift his head up, tears streaming down his face like serene rivers. "I'm not mad…"

Wolf instantly felt relieved, but a layer of shock prevented him from expressing it. "You're not?"

Fox gently swayed his head. "I… I can't… be mad at you."

"What do you mean?" Wolf asked, genuinely concerned and curious.

Fox just lowered his eyes again. "I saw what happened… the fight… with you and dad…"

"Fox," Wolf silently gasped.

Fox shook his head again. "I'm not mad… I know… You… you did what you needed to do."

The lupine immediately stepped forward and set his hands back on Fox's shoulders, but the words wouldn't leave him. Fox stared back… that's all they needed to do. Another shared moment of silence. Wolf finally saw emotion flaring up in the kit's eyes, and they weren't filled with malice. To Wolf's surprise, they were filled with relief; that in and of itself caused more guilt to form inside the wolf's heart.

Then, Fox smiled. It was weak, plagued by the immense pain of past days and the uncertainty of his future, but a faint, forced smile nonetheless. Wolf couldn't help but smile back, his own tears gently cascading down his cheeks. Fox gently blinked his eyes, seeing his smile being shared causing his own tears as well. And once again, Fox leapt into yet another warm, comforting embrace from… his best friend.

"I'm sorry, Fox," Wolf sniffled, hugging the vulpine tight. "I'm so sorry."

"I could never stay mad at you," Fox said back, weak voice and all. "You did so much… You did that to protect me."

"You know I didn't want to," Wolf muttered.

"I know," Fox gently nodded again. "But you did the right thing. …I miss dad, but… I'd be sadder if you died instead."

Wolf's eyes shot wide open. "You mean that?"

Again, Fox nodded in affirmation. "I'd be lost without you…"

Whatever was left of Wolf's heart melted almost instantly. His shock faded into elation, his own weak smile forming as a result. Still, he felt the need to clarify one more thing. He breathed out of his nose and gently tightened his grasp on the vulpine's shoulders.

"Can you forgive me?"

Fox grinned. "Yes. I forgive you."

Wolf's smile grew in intensity and sincerity. He retracted one of his hands, but balled it up and held it out for the kit. "Bros?"

Fox mimicked the lupine's smile, meeting his fist with his own. "Bros," he repeated, immediately lunging into another hug. "I love you."

"I love you too, little bud," Wolf answered happily, holding Fox's hug at his discretion. They stayed this way for minutes on end until Vince broke his silence.

"Let's get home, you guys," he said in a gentle voice. "Best we get settled down soon."

Wolf straightened himself out, curiously staring back at Vince with cocked ears. "What do you mean?"

Fox stepped back over to Vince, so that the arctic fox could drape his arm around him. "Fox is going to live with me now," he explained. "I'll be his guardian, since, well… you get the idea."

Wolf nodded. "So…"

"Since General Jaeger told me you and Sheila aren't allowed to enlist anymore, that leaves you out of a home. But, I think I can pull some strings for the both of you and have you two stay in James's old place."

Wolf and Sheila both looked downright shocked. "Can we?"

"Not a problem," Vince showcased a faint smile. "But you'll need to pay for the upkeep. I'll give you the first month or so, so you get your feet back underneath you."

Wolf instinctively hugged the husky in relief. "Thank you, Vinny," he breathed.

Vince nodded. "Well, what are we waiting for?"

The duo broke apart and followed the vulpines towards Vince's car. The all arranged themselves inside, and in moments, they were bound for their respective homes.

Back where they belong.

* * *

**A/N: Since Veria shit the bed, allow me to make reparations. Former chapters have been altered in favor to support this continuation. As of now, Veria is no longer canon in the FC timeline.**

**First Contact alteration: chapter _1/3_**

* * *

_Clickin' her heels  
Says there's no place like hell  
When you wake up  
And you find yourself drinking from the bottom shelf  
Life can turn you upside down  
Chew you up and spit you out  
Tear you up it never ends  
It goes on and on and on and on and  
On and on and on and on_

_Hold on to that heartbreak  
Hold on to that hell you have to pay  
Sometimes it's the only thing that gets you by  
Hold on to that heartbreak  
Hold on to that hell you have to pay  
All the tragedies make you who you are  
Remember every scar_

_*Escape the Fate – Remember Every Scar*_


	29. Flashback

**A/N: Holy shit, Sheppard is actually still writing.  
**

**Just so you know, I'm rewriting a bit of history if Veria is still fresh in your mind. Like I said, there is no more continuation between the two, so whatever happens in this is what goes down, not what happens in Veria. Ignore it completely. If you want to take it into consideration, keep it as its own entity, not connected to this. PSA over.  
**

**Just one more continuation chapter left before this is finally over again.**

* * *

_*Uppermost — Flashback*_

* * *

**O'Donnell Residence, Suburban Corneria City**

Her roses certainly took a liking to the rain shower. The inclusive blend of white and red flowers in complete bloom swayed with gentle ease as the encroaching late-spring thunderstorm only intensified as it progressed. The soft breeze carried the inexplicably pleasant taste of said storm and ruffled the leaves of the nearby trees, while the persistent patter of rainwater predominated the landscape, often disturbed by a low, resounding crack of thunder bellowing in amongst the terrain.

As one who enjoyed these types of storms and often found herself distracted by the diversity of its natural instruments, Sheila sat on her front porch and watched nature at its finest moments. The copper husky let the cool air infused with an almost nonexistent layer of mist permeate her coat of fur, soothing her in ways that a storm could. Her light blue eyes wide with wonder and interest slowly scanned over her surroundings, picking out everything from the saturated streets, to the large drops of water dripping down from the overhang of her front porch, to the veil of foggy mist obscuring the landscape beyond the protection of her roof, and even to the tiniest buildups of water accumulating on her delicate roses.

Placid and content, Sheila padded over to her swinging porch bench and sat down with her glass of iced tea in paws. Although she could easily reach the polished oak deck when sitting straight, she curled her legs underneath her seat in order to gently sway the bench. Occasionally, she would extend her legs to pump her swing, and in doing so, a few stray drops of rainwater would drip onto her bare hind paws and make her smile at the sensation.

The deep, distant rumbles of thunder continued, and beyond the horizon of neighboring houses and tall trees, the dark gray clouds overhead would periodically light up as discharges of lightning exploded from the storm system. Being as they were too far south, Sheila didn't worry about the lightning or the thunder intensifying anytime soon. If anything would escalate, it would be her happiness.

Her senses would be bombarded with pleasures on these kinds of days. Her ears twitched at every low crack of thunder, but the hum of the water pelting the cement sidewalks and shingles overhead created a chorus of nature within her eardrums. The skin underneath her fur tingled at every gust of wind that brought the faint mist her way. The taste of the breeze combined with her iced tea felt incredible as it cascaded down her throat. The sensation of her padded feet wrinkling up from the water on her porch completed her unorthodox feeling of euphoria in ways that ordinary words could not hope to describe.

There was something so mesmerizing about nature's sonic symphony that always set Sheila's mind ablaze. It was like an addictive drug to her; so stimulating, yet full of easing pleasure and tranquility that she couldn't ever get enough. Especially in situations like this where the brunt of the storm was out of her path, just listening and watching a storm as it unfolded miles away from the comfort of her home produced an odd sense of stimulation that she could not replicate anywhere else.

Above the sound of the seemingly perpetual rain shower, the creak of the screen door disturbed her moment of sensory bliss. Her straw rolled around the circumference of her glass as she let it drop from her maw, her muzzle turning towards the origins of the sound. As she expected and anticipated, Wolf had caused the distraction. He stood in the doorway with both the screen door and the wooden front door propped open, allowing for the cool breeze to ventilate their home with the intoxicating scent of nature at its most beautiful and vulnerable moments.

Initially, Wolf did not say, nor do anything upon making his presence known. His violet eyes stayed transfixed on the copper husky, watching intently as she gently swung back and forth on the porch swing. Her eruption of cinnamon colored locks now synonymous with her name gently blew with the soothing breeze, creating quite a priceless picture to behold in combination with her skimpy outfit. A baby blue bikini bottom tied just above her hips showed off almost every inch of her beautiful blend of silky white and light copper fur, while a faded violet tank-top two sizes too small adorned her torso and expertly showed off her slender curves while still remaining publicly decent.

Likewise, Sheila admired his body with simple joy. Much like her own frame, Wolf remained toned, slender, and incredibly fit. Over the past year they had been together, his white mohawk had become shaggy and now spanned all the way down to the back of his neck, and the fur on the underside of his muzzle had gotten much longer too. Much like the husky, he wore a white tank-top that _actually fit_, and some black athletic shorts that waved in the calm wind. Still with his morning cup of coffee in paw, Wolf stepped down from the doorframe and onto the damp front porch.

"Hi Wuffy," Sheila said in her usual giddy, energetic voice. Her childlike demeanor prevailed anywhere she went, and it was entirely obvious that she didn't have a care in the world in regards to it.

Wolf immediately realized how and why she was so excited, mainly because a low grumble of thunder rolled over the horizon just as he was about to speak. "Having fun out here?"

Sheila wasted no time in nodding, gently scooting over to allow Wolf to sit beside her. "I love this."

"You know, you're the only canine I know that actually _likes_ thunderstorms," Wolf remarked, interrupting Sheila's swinging when he plopped into the open seat.

"There's so much to like about them," the husky said in a distantly awestruck voice, staring off into the swirl of gradient clouds. The apt light peeking through reflected off of her curious orbs, providing more depth to an already captivating set of eyes. As more lightning flashed, she continued in a soft, silky voice, "It's amazing how something so dangerous like this can be such a beautiful sight… You'd never believe enough rain could destroy. It just seems so ordinary…"

Wolf took a sip from his mug. "Tell that to the Destroyer crew that went down because of a storm."

Sheila quickly interjected, "No, not like that. I mean…" she trailed off, too captivated by the sounds to continue coherently. "…I mean, rain brings life. …It can take it away too. Nature seems to be like a double-edged sword."

Wolf chuckled under his breath. "Okay, what is in that tea you drink?"

Sheila giggled back and let the straw hover inside her maw. "I'm just curious, that's all."

"Curiosity is okay," the lupine admitted. "Just gotta be careful what you do in response. Need I say more after what happened a year ago?"

She shook her head. "Point made. But that's not what I'm talking about. There's no interstellar race causing weather here. It's all... dare I say _divine_?"

"You can _say_ it, doesn't mean I believe it," Wolf concluded.

"Well, neither do I, but…" again the copper husky trailed off, this time in search for words. "Still doesn't rule out a possibility."

"I never keep my options closed up," he replied confidently, his hold on her gently tightening. "Just never been one to blindly throw faith at a wall after what happened last year."

Sheila glanced over at him. "The only reason that it's a fresh thought in my mind is because… well, we're here. Alive. And even better, _together_. I don't know about you, but that's some supernatural stuff."

Wolf chuckled again. "I'll admit, we got damn lucky to be where we are now."

"I'll say," she smiled at him, leaning over to rest her head on his shoulder. "Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Do you believe right now?"

Wolf stayed silent for a little bit, enough to let another crack of thunder echo. Lying atop Sheila's head, he answered, "Truthfully, no… but like I said, there's plenty of reasons to say otherwise."

Sheila exhaled softly. "I don't know. I mean, other than now, there hasn't been a reason to. It's… a bit distant, the relationship with any gods and all. I do my thing, they do theirs, and we both live as we want. Maybe our paths cross every once in a while, but other than that…"

"Separate."

"Right, separate. Does that make me a bad person?"

"Not at all," Wolf immediately assured. "If everyone that doubted went to hell, there'd be nobody in heaven. It's okay to think and question, but it's ultimately what you put your heart into."

Sheila sighed again, more in bliss than in thought. "That was a nice saying. I like that."

"I can't remember who said that to me," Wolf mumbled. "But it stuck. I guess that's why I am who I am. Sure, I doubt all the time, and not just about one little thing. But if I let it get the best of me, I'd be nowhere near here. I'm sure everyone's doubted at least once."

"I have," Sheila blurted out. "I've had my doubts on a lot of things too."

"Is it safe to say I'm not one of them?" Wolf cheekily commented, a small grin plastered on his muzzle.

"Well, I'd be lying if I said yes," Sheila answered truthfully. "Remember how I didn't believe you when that whole war with humanity incident started? I doubted you so much that it almost killed me. _Literally_ almost killed me. But, like you said, everyone that doubts doesn't necessarily go to hell. Right now, Wolf… I'm in heaven with you."

Wolf nuzzled her cheek. "And I the same with you."

The blissful intimacy continued on for what felt like an entire day. In contemplative silence, the two lovers stared out into the storm. Sheila's purr of complete ecstasy conjoined with the low rumble of distant thunder so perfectly that Wolf became unaware of the differences between the two. Their moment together just felt so inexplicably perfect as if nothing could ruin it. Even if the storm progressed and caught them off-guard, their day would never be ruined.

As the rain continued, Wolf became lost in detached thought. Specifically, directed at the husky in his grasp. As he reminisced on his time with her, he realized how lucky he was to have someone that loved him for who he was over all this time. Even through ups and downs that almost killed their friendship, they stayed inseparable. Not only that, but the rollercoaster of life only strengthened their unbreakable bond. Yet, Sheila still found a way to make his heart flutter in a way that only… only a soul mate could.

After an unknown amount of time in tranquility, Wolf finally broke the silence. "Hey She?"

"Yeah?"

Thus the heart fluttering begins. With an unnoticeable stutter, at least to Sheila, Wolf replied, "I've got a question for you."

Mimicking Wolf's response from earlier, Sheila smiled and said, "Shoot."

"Do you love me?"

"Of course," she answered almost instantly.

"You're sure about that?" Wolf asked with a smirk.

Sheila pulled back, an intrigued, yet silly expression plastered on her muzzle. "Duh, why would you think I would say no?"

"Hey, I ask the questions here," Wolf shot back jokingly, the both of them unable to keep straight faces.

"Fine, but what's this about?" the husky asked.

"Oh, no reason."

Sheila laughed aloud and swatted at his stomach. Taking his opportunity, Wolf faked an injury and stood up from the bench, paw over his midsection. After setting his mug on the porch railing, Wolf staggered over to Sheila and fell to his knees, imitating a cough.

"Wolf, what are you…?"

Sheila trailed off when he stopped coughing and looked up directly into her eyes. She saw him trembling. Both his arms and his tail were shaking with restlessness as he shifted his stance to a single knee. Before she could connect the dots, Wolf reached into his pocket and displayed a glimmering gold ring.

The same one that Nathan gave him a year ago.

As Sheila cupped her maw to avoid audibly gasping, Wolf smiled sheepishly and finally posed the big question.

"Sheila, will you marry me?"

Sheila's emotions went into immediate lockdown. She bolted up from her seat and squealed at first, then began to cry. Tail wagging violently and voice hoarse, Sheila answered, "Yes! Y-yes I will!"

Wolf broke out a successful smile and stood up. He gently cupped her paw and, smiling brighter than he had ever done before, slipped the ring onto her finger. No sooner did he release his grip, Sheila lunged forward and locked her muzzle with his. Wolf needed no additional second to return the love, especially with what had just transpired.

A full year of love, heartbreak, tender care, emotional rollercoasters, loss, uncertainty, and intimacy—not necessarily in that same order—finally could be capped off with what could arguably be the best moment of the young couple's live. Their steadfast relationship could take that next step, and Wolf couldn't be more ecstatic and proud that the love of his life agreed to be there for the rest of it.

Likewise, Sheila couldn't contain her tears at the mere thought that she could look forward to a husband as great as he was. When she pulled away from the kiss to breathe, she locked Wolf into a tight embrace that reflected her undying love. Tears streamed from her face and onto Wolf's back just as the clouds above streamed water onto the streets. She couldn't believe this was happening.

Sniffling, Sheila squeaked out, "Wolf, t-thank you so much! You're the best!"

"No, you are," Wolf replied surely, cupping her cheeks in his hands.

The husky giggled like a little child. "I can't believe this."

"Neither can I," he chuckled. "I'm just so happy you said yes."

She smiled again. "Well, truth be told, I've got quite a big reason why I wouldn't ever say no."

"Do I even need to ask?"

Sheila backed out of his grasp, but not out of the aura of warmth he possessed. "You might…"

Wolf smirked. "Fine, I'll ask. Why?"

Without saying a word, Sheila stepped over to the railing separating the porch from her garden. Her eyes stared out into the storm, reflecting the texture of clouds in amongst her light blue irises. Wolf initially thought that his new fiancée had gotten sidetracked or just forgot what she was going to say, but his thoughts were stopped when she looked his way again. And, for a split second, her eyes flashed down at the floor before linking back up with his again.

The mood shifted. What was a euphoric and celebratory mood quickly settled into wonder. Wolf didn't know how to egg Sheila on into talking, for she seemed to be devoid of words just as he was. The rain didn't seem to register to either one anymore, as Sheila looked to be entranced in her own thought. In fact, she had the same level of uncertainty Wolf had when posing that big question, almost as if she was hiding something monumental herself.

"Sheila?" Wolf finally fought through the unintentional tension.

Sheila giggled in her own sheepish way, ears folded below her plume of hair. "Wolf I… wanted to tell you this for a while now, I just didn't know how to say it or when. Now… I think is the perfect time."

"What?"

Only then did Sheila's still arms finally gain movement, instantly gravitating to her exposed stomach as if there were magnets in them. She smiled and looked up at him again. Soon, Wolf followed suit.

"You're pregnant, aren't you?" Wolf asked, almost disbelieving that a question like that slipped through his teeth. A different wave of the ongoing emotional tidal wave hit when Sheila gently nodded her head. Just like that, another little giggle slipped. A great day just got even better.

Wolf just shook his head, a smile perpetually plastered upon his muzzle. "I got a future wife and a future mother in one day. I don't think it can get much better than this."

Sheila purred and closed the distance between them. "I'm just happy it's with you."

Wolf needed no extra time to pull her into a completely genuine hug, filled to the brim with tender emotion and limitless affection. Despite the rain putting a damper on what could have been an absolutely perfect day, the two canines now bonded in love two separate ways still managed to make the most of it.

"Do you believe now, Wolf?" Sheila said, holding back her tears.

"I don't have any reason to say no anymore," Wolf responded proudly.

And with that, the thunderstorm merely continued on as if nothing had happened. The two forgot everything as they retreated back into their cozy home, while rumbles of thunder reverberated over… and over… and over again…

* * *

_Now I see what I couldn't believe  
All the things you were saying to me  
It's taken me so long, it's taken me so long  
All my walls they are falling to dust  
Until you I never knew how to trust  
It's taken me so long, it's taken me so long_

_You gave me looks I won't forget  
You left me on the floor  
You gave me highs that lose my breath_

_I'd give up all my tomorrows  
To be here with you  
Walk off the world just to follow  
To follow you  
You're every waking hour  
You're all that time devours  
I'd give up all my tomorrows  
To be here with you_

_*Sick Puppies – Here With You*_


	30. Sleepwalking

It's been a quiet couple of years.

Nothing much has happened in regards to the hostility plagued tandem of planets in nearly half a decade. In complete and frank honesty, it was probably for the best. Letting the distance and silence come between the two nations has allowed them both to repair and reform in their own ways. Boring diplomacy never reached beyond the boundaries of the system, and nobody wanted to push the boundaries either for fear a second contact could arise. Nobody wanted that mess on their plate. Not now of all times.

At the ceremony earlier today, yet another moment of silence was taken to remember those who had perished in the accidental destruction of Corneria's capital city. It happened so much in so many gatherings that it had just become second nature to everyone. Everyone wanted to remember. Everyone wanted to pay their respects. Surely a single moment would do. After all, a single moment was all it took to flip the entire planet upside-down.

Long after the ceremony, graduates slowly began to trickle out of the academy and meet up with their loved ones. The annual CDF graduation ceremony. Four years of teaching and application all wrapped up into a future pilot cloaked in a navy blue silk cap and gown with a diploma and piloting license in hand. Only two hundred graduated this year, down from the previous years for obvious reasons, but that made in no less important. Why?

Well, after half of the graduating class finally escaped the auditorium, an eighteen-year-old Fox McCloud finally emerged with credentials in tow. It was a hard fought victory. Four years it took, but it was definitely worth it. And not only did he have that piloting license, his degree also gave him free roam to pursue any engineering programs he wanted. It was something else, after all. Maybe he'd use it, maybe not.

Fox's eyes honed in on the arctic fox standing at the edge of the sidewalk. It was hard for him to miss. That lab coat could reflect the sun with how bright it was. Not wasting any time, he tucked his papers away and set off to meet Vince. As he got closer, he noticed both Wolf, Sheila, and little Nathaniel with him. He knew they were in the crowd somewhere, but this was the first time he'd seen them all day.

Vince immediately noticed him. Fox barely had enough time to react as Vince threw himself into Fox and hugged him as tightly as his fragile body would let him. They both laughed, but more because Vince wanted to hold back his tears. That didn't work.

"I'm so proud of you," Vince whispered, choking on his emotions as his death grip on Fox's gown tightened further, threatening to tear into the silk. Fox just chuckled, hoping that Vince would let go sometime soon, but by the indications, it didn't seem like he would. The vulpine just rubbed Vince's back to try to calm the emotional mess down.

Vince finally pulled away and looked at Fox, tears welled in his eyes. He forced a smile. He couldn't believe Fox made it this far. The years of selflessness he poured into the kit ever since he gave him a place to live and a new opportunity at life finally paid off in a way, as if it needed a reason to anyway. The pain, the emotions of those years internally hoping and praying that his ambition would carry him to where he inevitably was now had built up until now. He could safely say now that… there was no pain. Sure, it might have seemed like it, but seeing the product of his best interest finally get to that end goal… it was surreal.

Years of pain. Years of sacrifice. Years of sleepless night wondering if he could fulfil his best friend's untimely intentions had caught up to him time and time again. Today was not one of those times. There was relief, for once. He didn't have that weight on his shoulders. Fox could see it. Vince carried himself like… like someone ought to carry themselves. He didn't have his worried burdening him. He wasn't anxious of the future or internally hoping that something—_anything_—would go in his favor for once. Today… he looked and felt like he'd won.

There was no tired bags under his eyes. His shoulders weren't slumped over. His tail didn't look lifeless. His eyes didn't look dull or bland. For once, Vince didn't look like he had just woken up, but looked like he had… won. He did win. Fox may have walked away with the diploma and knowledge that followed it, but ultimately, Vince came away a winner. His selfless investment finally churned him a profit. That's why he was happy. That's why he couldn't contain his emotions.

For what seemed like an eternity, Fox and Vince stared at each other, happy as could be. Eventually, the graduate nodded his head, setting a hand on Vince's shoulder.

"Thank you."

"Thank _you_," Vince immediately echoed emphatically. "Fox, you have no idea how proud I am of you. You… you made my dream come true."

"I couldn't have done it without you," Fox replied, himself holding back tears.

Vince laughed away some of his thoughts to cry more. "Your father would have been proud too."

"But what about you?" Fox asked.

"What about me?" Vince confusedly asked right back.

"Did I make _you_ proud?"

Vince smiled, another tear slipping loose. "More than you could ever imagine, kit."

"Because that's what I care about," Fox forced a smile to keep from crying as well. "You sacrificed so much for me, the least I could do was follow through with what you wanted."

Vince stifled a sniffle. "Fox…"

"You've been my father for the past five years," Fox started. "You helped me get here. I wouldn't be here without you. Nowhere close to here. I… I can't thank you enough."

Vince stepped away and composed himself as much as he could. "Well, Fox, I… I think I need to thank you too. Not just with words, but… with an opportunity."

He wiped away the tears in his eyes and laughed a little. "You've got that nice little degree in your hand there, Fox, and… I think you should be able to use it. There's an open position in my field of engineering, and I was wondering if you'd want to take that opening under my wing, per say."

"You're offering me a job right away?" Fox asked, eyes wide.

"If you want it, I can give so many recommendations that they'll have no other option but to hire you," Vince smiled. "I'll teach you everything I know, and then some. But that's only if you want it."

Fox immediately nodded. "Of course! I'd be stupid to turn this down."

"Great," Vince smiled wider. "I'll set up the paperwork and everything."

"You did good, runt," Wolf finally spoke up, grabbing the husky and wolf hybrid and setting him on his shoulder. "I'm proud of you too."

"I'm so excited!" Sheila yipped, lunging forward to give Fox one of her own hugs. "You're gonna do great things, I just know it!"

"Thanks you guys," Fox grinned. "You two were big helps too. I wouldn't be here without you two either."

"Why are we still here?" Wolf blurted out. "Why don't we go out for dinner? It's a special occasion, no?"

"You're right," Vince smiled. "You up for it, Fox?"

"Sure, I'm game."

The group slipped away from the chaos of other graduates engulfing them in order to get to the parking lot. As Fox and Vince were heading to their car, the former saw something out of the corner of his eye. Someone was struggling with their car; the hood was up and everything. While Vince was oblivious, Fox slipped away and walked to the aid of the struggling canine.

Fox recognized her, but he didn't know her name. She was one of the only female students that insisted on wearing a bow in her hair. She graduated with him, but her cap and gown were lazily tossed in her car to avoid getting them dirty. She looked to be frustrated as she hastily tried to get her car working, but to no avail.

"Need some help?" Fox offered.

Startled, the female canine bolted upright and narrowly missed hitting her head on her raised hood. She immediately breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh my gosh, please," she whimpered. "I can't get it to work and I've tried everything."

"I'll see what I can do," Fox said, tucking away his degree and setting to work on repairing her car.

"Wait, your gown will get all dirty," she stated.

"It won't hurt it any," Fox said, grunting as he started shuffling things around in the engine compartment.

"Oh gosh, please be careful," she pleaded.

Fox grunted again and stood straight up. "Got it. Your battery wire got screwed up, so I shuffled things around and it should work now."

The canine's face immediately lit up with glee. "Ahh! Oh my gosh you are a lifesaver! Thank you so much!"

"It's not a problem at all," Fox chuckled.

She stopped bouncing around and said, "Oh, I'm Fay, in case you didn't know."

"Fox," he replied, nodding his head courteously.

Fay immediately giggled. "Hehe, that's funny. Both our names start with F and are three letters. Isn't that funny?"

Fox couldn't help but laugh along.

Shyly, Fay continued, "Well, uh, thanks for helping me. Um… If you're not doing anything any time soon…" she grabbed Fox's wrist and fumbled with a pen she pulled out of her pocket before scribbling a few digits into his fur and skin. "Why don't you give me a call or something?"

Fox smiled. "Sure," he replied. "That would be cool."

"Okay then," she smiled one last time before getting in her car. "Thanks again, Fox!"

"Anytime," he answered, watching as she started her car and pulled out of the parking lot. Satisfied, Fox turned around and almost bumped into Vince doing so. All the arctic vulpine did was wink. Fox returned it with a devious little smirk.

And with that, they got into Vince's car and drove off to have their celebration meal.

Celebrating the next chapter of their lives.

No war.

No contact.

Just life.

As it was meant to be.

* * *

_Wake up  
You take my hand  
Give me a reason to start again  
Wake up  
You take my hand  
Give me a reason to start again_

_Cause your eyes are swallowing me  
Mirrors start to whisper  
Shadows start to sing  
My skin's smothering me  
Help me find a way to breathe_

_Time stood still  
The way it did before  
It's like I'm sleepwalking  
Fell into another hole again  
It's like I'm sleepwalking_

_*This Wild Life – Sleepwalking*  
or if you're Elarix, Bring Me The Horizon_

* * *

**_At least for now…_**


End file.
